Parent satisfaction and symptom relief in children with otitis media undergoing tympanostomy tube insertion

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate parent satisfaction and symptom relief in children younger than 12 years undergoing tympanostomy tube (TT) insertion for otitis media (OM) using electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) data in private ear, nose and throat (ENT) practice settings.

METHODS: A total of 3,553 children aged 0-11 years and registered in the Danish ENT Specialists Organisation (DØNHO) database were included. Following parental consent to participate, we e-mailed a pre-surgical questionnaire two days prior to surgery. Follow-up questionnaires were sent one, three, six, nine and 12 months after surgery. The pre-operative questionnaire collected information on symptom duration, number of acute OM (AOM) episodes within one year before TT insertion and ear-related symptoms. The post-operative questionnaires collected information on symptom relief, number of AOM episodes and parental satisfaction.

RESULTS: Pre- and post-operative questionnaires from 2,462 children were eligible for complete analysis. Before surgery, 89.8% of parents reported a symptom duration of three months or longer and/or recurrent AOM (RAOM). Complete symptom regression was reported in more than half of the children post-operatively. For the rest, significant symptom relief was reported 1-12 months following TT insertion. Parent satisfaction rose from 94.8% to 97.2% in the course of the observation period.

CONCLUSIONS: We report a consistent, high rate of symptom relief 1-12 months following TT insertion in children < 12 years of age. Furthermore, parental satisfaction throughout the 12-month observation period was compelling.

FUNDING: none.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The database was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency as a private, clinical database (no. 2016-42-3152). According to Danish law, approval by the Danish Research Ethics Committee system was not necessary.