A Cross Sectional Study on Quality of Life Measurements for Patients with Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media in a Tertiary Care Centre - A Chronic Ear Survey.

Introduction: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is achronic suppurative inflammation of mucoperiosteal layer ofthe middle ear cleft appreciated by perforation of the tympanicmembrane. CSOM can severely impact quality of life (QoL)of patients. QoL is the latest indicator of health care. The aimwas to assess the quality of life in CSOM (Chronic suppurativeotitis media) patients in a tertiary care centre.Materials and methods: It was a descriptive epidemiologicalstudy and sample size is approximately 60 using aQuestionnaire by interview method - the CES questionnaire(Activity Restriction, Symptom and Medical Resource).Results: In the end we came to know QoL is not affected inCSOM patients (p<.05) in terms of age, gender with activityrestriction, symptom and medical resource.Conclusion: Hence concluded that quality of life is notaffected in csom patients and though the health seekingbehavior has increased, the knowledge about the disease isminimum. We have to promote health education about thedisease. Further studies with larger sample size necessary toget significant correlation in QoL of csom patients.

Mucosal Grading And Its Use In The Management Of Chronic Otitis Media - Mucosal Disease

Aims and Objectives: This observational study is intended to identify the effectiveness of individual approach for each patient instead of a universal law of either Tympanoplasty alone or Cortical mastoidectomy with Tympanoplasty as a treatment for COM – mucosal type. Materials and Methods: This study comprises 100 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of COM Mucosal type. We graded the Middle ear mucosa into six grades. All patients were followed up for a minimum of six months post operatively. Results:The graft uptake in our study was found to be 96% at the end of 6 months. Conclusion:Aconcomitant Mastoidectomy adds cost, surgical time and hospital stay to the patient among other things. However, Mastoidectomy should be done when there is evidence to suggest involvement of the mastoid compartment by the disease. The middle ear mucosa gives an indication of the disease status.

Standardization for a Korean Version of Chronic Ear Survey: Translation and Verification of Validity and Reliability / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Chronic Ear Survey (CES) has been known to be a valid, disease-specific measure for the evaluation of health status and treatment effectiveness for chronic otitis media patients. As part of this study, we developed a Korean version by adapting from this CES, determined its reliability and validity. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The development of the Korean version of CES (K-CES) included the processes of standard independent translation and cross-cultural adaptation to check for cultural inconsistency. The finalized K-CES was administered to 166 patients visiting 10 referral hospitals in a prospective manner. K-CES was validated by using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest analysis for reliability and validity. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Instrument (SF-36) was assessed and the result was used to evaluate the criterion validity. RESULTS: The K-CES demonstrated good test-retest reliability and internal consistency (Cron-bach's alpha=0.850). Scale-item correlation coefficient was even higher than 1.0, which shows a very high reliability of K-CES. The validity of K-CES, checked by confirmatory factor analysis, also showed good construct validity. There was high correlation between SF-36 and the scores of K-CES, which indicates high criterion validity. CONCLUSION: We concluded that K-CES is a valid tool for clinical use and research studies in Korean patients with chronic otitis media.

A Computerized Database for Chronic Ear Surgery: An Usefulness on Data Management / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent microcomputer technology has created an ideal instrument for storing, organizing and reporting the increasing data of surgical treatments for chronic ear infection, one of the most prevalent diseases in Korea. This study is aimed at describing the structure of computerized database for chronic ear surgery and emphasizing the need for such a database not only for useful record keeping purposes but also for the purpose of reliable clinical study and statistical review. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Database was tailored using the dBase III plus program (Ashton-Tate Inc. version 1.01). A total of 93 fields were included within the five standardized categories which were, patient demographics, clinical assessment findings, operative findings, surgical procedures and postoperative follow-up records. A total of 598 records were collected from the surgeries involving chronic ear infection from 1989 to 1996. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS PC+ for window (version 6.0) program. RESULTS: Data on the laterality of the disease, hearing status of the operated ear, number of operations performed on the ear, diagnoses, preoperative complications, types of surgery performed, and pre- and post-operative hearing level could all be easily drawn from the database log. The postoperative eardrum perforation rate did not differ significantly among the cases with regards to different prognostic factors, such as existence of cholesteatoma, execution of ossicular chain reconstruction, closed vs open cavity mastoidectomy, primary vs revision operation and the use of synthetic prosthesis (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: A database of this kind will enable us to perform a rapid and accurate assessment of sytematized data, use compatible terminology and classification, and receive feedback on surgeon's own surgical protocols.

The Factors Contributing to Hearing Gains after Chronic Ear Surgery: A Report from a Computerized Database / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A computerized database system could provide benefit to reducing the variability of reporting results of chronic ear surgery, where a variety of factors may influence the outcomes. In the present study, the factors contributing to hearing gains after chronic ear surgery were investigated using a computerized database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Audiometric data were easily drawn from the database log of 622 surgical cases of chronic otitis media done by one surgeon from 1989 to 1996. Of these, 309 were collected with the inclusion criteria being the period of no shorter than 3 months following tympanoplasty procedures. Post-operative hearing gains were compared according to the patient factor (sex, age), disease factors (unilateral vs bilateral disease, existence of cholesteatoma, preoperative otorrhea), surgery factor (primary versus revision operation, types of mastoidectomy, ossiculoplasty, hearing status of the operated ear), and the surgeon's experience. RESULTS: Pre- and post-operative air-bone gaps of the pure tone averages for the 309 cases studied were 34.6+/-13.4 dBHL and 24.9+/-13.8 dBHL, respectively. The post-operative hearing gains were 9.6+/-13.6 dBHL. The hearing gains did not differ significantly beween the groups when it is compared with regards to the factors, such as sex and age of patients, revision operation, hearing status, surgeon's experience. But the hearing gains differed with regards to the other factors, such as cholesteatoma, otorrhea, mastoidectomy and ossiculoplasty (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This kind of computerized database is very useful to assess the effect of factors on the hearing gains following chronic ear surgery.