Long-term Paparella II grommet use in the management of persistent childhood otitis media: a 5-year follow-up study

Abstract

A comprehensive 5-year follow-up study of Paparella grommet use in UK. Study group consists of children previously treated with short-term grommets and with persistent glue ear. Mean functional period was 3.73 years with 52% being retainde for the full 5 year duration of the study. Infection and perforation rates increased with the duration of grommet in-situ and this was especially marked after 36 months. We advise the elective removal of these long-term grommets after 3 years of function to reduce compication rate.

Role of Albumin Coating of Tympanostomy Tubes: Long‐Term Clinical Evaluation

“…None of these seven patients suffered from complications such as otitis media or granulous tissue formation during their half‐year prolongation of follow‐up. The total number of removed tubes, 42 (14%), is similar to the incidence in the earlier prospective studies (8.5%–19%) in which follow‐up continued until the end of treatment 7 …”

“…According to recommendations, a short‐term tube should be removed after 2 to 3 years if it has not extruded spontaneously. In prospective studies, the number of short‐term tubes needing surgical removal has varied between 8.5% and 19%, depending mostly on the design of the tube 7 . In retrospective reviews, however, the estimated percentage of removed tubes tends to be markedly lower, between 1% and 5% 8,9 .…”

“…In prospective studies, the number of short-term tubes needing surgical removal has varied between 8.5% and 19%, depending mostly on the design of the tube. 7 In retrospective reviews, however, the estimated percentage of removed tubes tends to be markedly lower, between 1% and 5%. 8,9 This may be because clinical practice recommendations are not strictly followed.…”

Long-term middle-ear ventilation with subannular tubes

“…Similar problems have been reported with other long-term transtympanic tubes such as the Per-Lee and Paparella II tubes, with complication rates of up to 70 per cent, 17 including perforation in 49 per cent of cases. 18 It may be argued that the high complication rate seen with long-term ventilation tubes is due to their use in patients who have failed prior treatment and thus constitute a more difficult group to treat. However, Strachan et al 12 and Mangat et al 14 have reported unacceptably high complication rates in patients with T-tubes inserted as a primary procedure.…”

Five-year results for use of single-flanged tympanostomy tubes in children

“…We found that 36.4 per cent of tubes had extruded after 12 months and 71.0 per cent after 24 months. 8,12,13 Retained tubes Some authors have found that removal of the tympanostomy tube reduces the risk of persistent perforation, but this has been disputed by others. 11 Gibb et al reported equivalent results for Shepard tubes.…”