No abstract

To determine the prevalence, incidence, and course of secretory otitis media in an age-group population, 404 3-year-old children in a town in Denmark were examined at 6-, 8-, and 12-week intervals over a 6-month period. At each of the four examinations approximately 20% of the children had middle ear effusion (MEE); it was found at least once in 42% of the children, and 6% had persistent effusion at all four examinations. Average duration of MEE was 3 months. Since spontaneous recovery rarely occurred when MEE had been present for more than 3 months, active intervention is recommended after the condition has been followed for this length of time. The highly fluctuating course of MEE demonstrated in early childhood has important implications for concepts in pediatric middle ear disease and treatment.

No abstract

Tympanometric screening was performed in January 1976 and in August 1978 on 938 healthy three-year-old children (1,868 ears), constituting more than 95% of the total population of three-year-olds living in a Danish municipality at the time of testing. All children showing abnormalities were followed by tympanometry through the subsequent six months, or until spontaneous normalization had been ascertained. The study demonstrated a high prevalence and a common spontaneous recovery of secretory otitis media. In summer as well as in winter middle ear effusion was found in about 10% of all ears, or in every eighth child. Two thirds of the ears improved spontaneously, one third to complete normalization. Middle ear function, assessed by tympanometry, is extremely labile during the preschool years and must be evaluated from a dynamic point of view. This greatly restricts the predictive value of snapshots, such as screening results. Therefore, pending complementary information from long-term cohort studies, universal impedance screening of all preschool children should not be instituted.

No abstract