Prevention and Treatment of Tympanostomy Tube Otorrhea: A Meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: Children with tympanostomy tubes often develop ear discharge.

OBJECTIVE

Synthesize evidence about the need for water precautions (ear plugs or swimming avoidance) and effectiveness of topical versus oral antibiotic treatment of otorrhea in children with tympanostomy tubes.

DATA SOURCES: Searches in Medline, the Cochrane Central Trials Registry and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Excerpta Medica Database, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.

STUDY SELECTION: Abstracts and full-text articles independently screened by 2 investigators.

DATA EXTRACTION: 25 articles were included.

RESULTS

One randomized controlled trial (RCT) in children assigned to use ear plugs versus no precautions reported an odds ratio (OR) of 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.37-1.25) for >1 episode of otorrhea. Another RCT reported an OR of 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.29-1.76) for nonswimmers versus swimmers. Network meta-analyses suggest that, relative to oral antibiotics, topical antibiotic-glucocorticoid drops were more effective: OR 5.3 (95% credible interval, 1.2-27). The OR for antibiotic-only drops was 3.3 (95% credible interval, 0.74-16). Overall, the topical antibiotic-glucocorticoid and antibiotic-only preparations have the highest probabilities, 0.77 and 0.22 respectively, of being the most effective therapies.

LIMITATIONS: Sparse randomized evidence (2 RCTs) and high risk of bias for nonrandomized comparative studies evaluating water precautions. Otorrhea treatments include non-US Food and Drug Administration approved, off-label, and potentially ototoxic antibiotics.

CONCLUSIONS

No compelling evidence of a need for water precautions exists. Cure rates are higher for topical drops than oral antibiotics.