Assessment of Pediatric Middle Ear Effusions With Wideband Tympanometry.

Abstract

To determine if wideband tympanometry (WBT) can differentiate types of middle ear effusion (MEE): serous, mucoid, and purulent. Prospective cohort study. Tertiary care children's hospital. Children who met American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery's guidelines for ventilation tube insertion had WBT after anesthesia induction but before tympanotomy. MEE was categorized into 1 of 4 comparison groups: serous effusion, mucoid effusion, purulent effusion, or no effusion. WBT measurements were averaged to 16 one-third octave frequency bands, and comparison of the absorbance patterns for each MEE type was performed through a linear mixed effects model. A total of 118 children (211 ears) were included: 47 females (39.8%) and 71 males (60.2%). The mean age was 2.73 years (95% CI, 2.25-3.22); mean weight, 14.35 kg (95% CI, 12.85-15.85); and mean <i>Z</i> score, 1.13 (95% CI, -0.64 to 2.33). Effusions included 61 mucoid (28.9%), 30 purulent (14.2%), and 14 serous (6.6%), with 106 (50.2%) having no effusion. No significant differences were found for sex, race, age, weight, or <i>Z</i> score among the 4 types of effusion (<i>P</i> < .05). WBT showed a significant difference in median absorption among the effusion groups (<i>P</i> < .001), with a medium effect size of 0.35. WBT has potential use to differentiate types of MEE and should be studied further as a tool for investigating how the natural history and management of serous and mucoid effusions may differ.