Evaluation of medium to long term efficacy of balloon dilation in the treatment of aural fullness as chief complaint / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

To discuss the characteristics of symptoms improvement based on the follow-up evaluation of Eustachian tube balloon dilation medium to long-term efficacy in patients with symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction (SETD). Patients from 2015 to 2017 were followed up after Eustachian tube balloon dilation (with the sense of aural fullness, or tinnitus and hearing ambiguity). All participants had been done ETDQ-7 before surgery and were re-evaluated with ETDQ-7 in follow-up. The improvement of overall and individual symptoms scores in ETDQ-7, the effects of gender and the difference of scores at different stages (12-18 months, 18-24 months and 24-30 months) after the operation were analyzed. There were 29 patients, including 16 males and 13 females, whose age ranged from 20 to 62 years old. The medium to long-term score of ETDQ-7 significantly declined after surgery (27.0±7.9 . 14.1±7.5, 0.05). Among all symptoms, symptoms like "blockage feeling in ear or being like under the water, constriction feeling" , "sound of blisters or explosions in the ear" decreased obviously (0.05). Comparing different stages after surgery, the scores of ETDQ-7 existed no difference (0.05). And the difference of gender showed no significant influence on surgery effects. The subjective symptoms of patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction diagnosed with SETD can be significantly improved in the medium to long-term follow-up after Eustachian tube balloon dilation, and the degree of improvement is not linearly related to the postoperative time.