Caregiver-reported short-term effect and quality of life improvements after tympanostomy tube insertion in children with chronic otitis media with effusion.

BACKGROUND

Chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) is a leading indication for tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI) in young children. While long-term developmental effects of TTI appear limited, short-term outcomes are less well described.

OBJECTIVES

To assess caregiver-reported outcomes of TTI in children aged 1-4 years with COME, including reasons for consultation, baseline quality of life (QoL), and perceived changes one month after surgery.

METHODS

This prospective study included 60 children with COME recruited from two non-referral ENT clinics in Denmark. Participants were randomized 1:1 to TTI or one-month observation. Controls who still met guideline criteria after one month were offered TTI. Caregivers completed the OM-6 questionnaire and two global QoL numerical rating scales at baseline and one month after TTI. Paired t-tests and Spearman correlations were used.

RESULTS

Fifty-four children completed follow-up; 52 underwent TTI. Sleep disturbance was the most frequent caregiver-reported complaint (74%). Mean baseline OM-6 score was 3.16 (SD 1.0); the lowest item score was activity limitation (2.5), the only OM-6 item reflecting sleep. At one month, child QoL improved from 6.2 to 8.5 (Δ2.6; p < 0.0005) and family QoL from 6.7 to 8.1 (Δ1.7; p < 0.0005). OM-6 correlated with child (ρ = -0.56) and family QoL (ρ = -0.55). Caregivers reported improvement in sleep (58%), hearing (60%), and language (72%); overall satisfaction was 96%.

CONCLUSION

TTI was associated with significant short-term improvement in child and family QoL. The low OM-6 activity limitation score despite frequent caregiver-reported sleep disturbance suggests otitis media-specific QoL instruments may underrepresent sleep-related morbidity.