Efficacy of acoustic otoscope in detecting middle ear effusion in children

Abstract

The sensitivity and specificity of the acoustic otoscope in detecting middle ear effusion (MEE) was determined for 200 children. Based upon results from otoscopy, tympanometry, pure tone audiometry, and myringotomy, 100 of the children (175 ears) had MEE. The remaining 100 (200 ears) had no MEE. Using acoustic otoscope reflectivity (AOR) units 4 through 9 to indicate pathologic ears, its sensitivity and specificity were found to be 93.14% and 83%, respectively. These findings led to the conclusion that the acoustic otoscope may provide a simple and cost-effective way of detecting MEE in children. Suggestions are provided for improving the effectiveness of this new device as a clinical tool.

Otitis Media in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Study

“…The sensitivity and specificity of acoustic reflectometry in our series is similar to that reported by Avery et al, 20 Teele and Teele, 21 Lampe et al," and Oyiborhoro et a1. 23 This device measures the amount of sound reflected from the TM after an 80 dB SPL 100 msec tone pip in the 2 to 5 kHz range is introduced into the external canal. Since the amount of reflected sound is increased by fluid within the middle ear, the device is potentially useful in the detection of middle-ear effusions.…”

Otoscopy and tympanometry in the diagnosis of secretory otitis media

“…Evidências científicas comparando a timpanometria e a otoscopia no diagnóstico de secreção no ouvido médio demonstraram que a primeira apresenta sensibilidade e especificidade superiores [8][9][10][11][12][13] .…”

Tympanostomy Tube Placement for Otitis Media with Effusion in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

“…SGAR is an efficient diagnostic tool for the detection of OME, requiring less than one second to complete the procedure. Although the sensitivity and specificity are somewhat low, SGAR is a noninvasive test that is unaffected by crying, cerumen, client cooperation, or the quality of the air seal in the ear, thereby making it useful for testing difficult infants [28,[36][37][38].…”