ABSTRACT
Objectives: The study was aimed to compare results of medical and surgical treatment of otitis media with effusion in terms of hearing improvement, determine recurrence of MEE and decide when to offer surgical treatment
Study Design: A descriptive study
Place And Duration: The study was conducted from June 2008 to December 2011 in ENT department of Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar
Methodology: Sixty seven patients were selected for study. Every child with difficulty in hearing was examined with pneumatic otoscope for fluid level and tympanic membrane mobility. These children were investigated with tympanometry to confirm the middle ear effusion and pure tone audiometry for hearing threshold. X-Ray nasopharynx lateral view was performed to confirm the mass of adenoids. All of the patients were treated conservatively in the first phase. Those cases not responding to conservative treatment were treated with myringotomy and or adenoidectomy with and without ventilation tubes. Patients were followed for recurrence of MEE for 36 months
Results: Conservative treatment was tried in all patients. Middle ear effusion cleared in 71.5% [n.86] out of 120 ears. MEE showed no improvement in 28.5% [n. 34] ears. The failure was much less with ventilation tubes [5.0%]. The hearing level improved by 10 to 15 dB with ventilation tubes