Clinical Practice Trends in Otolaryngology for the Prevention of Ear Ventilation Tube Blockage

Abstract

Abstract Context: Tympanostomy tube (TT) placement has become one of the most common surgical procedures performed in children. The tube drains fluid trapped behind the eardrum, thereby maintaining middle ear cavity ventilation and preventing hearing loss. One of the common postoperative complications is obstruction of the TT lumen. Aims: We aimed to identify common practices among general otolaryngologists (not subspecialized) and pediatric otolaryngologists for the prevention of middle ear TT blockage in children. Settings and Design: The design involves a cross-sectional, web-based survey. Subjects and Methods: The survey was conducted using Google Forms and delivered through e-mails to general and pediatric otolaryngologists between January and December 2022. Otolaryngologists of >2 years’ experience were included in the study. Statistical Analysis Used: For the descriptive analysis of the data, frequency, percentages, and bar diagrams were used. For inferential analysis, the Chi-square test was used to study the relationship between two categorical variables. Results: Among the 196 otolaryngologists who participated in this survey, 78 (39.8%), 68 (34.7%), 44 (22.4%), and 6 (3.1%) were residents, consultants, specialists, and fellows, respectively. A majority of the practitioners were pediatric otolaryngologists (n = 140, 71.4%). A higher proportion of respondents (60.5%) with <5 years of experience in ear, nose, and throat practice agreed that ear drops should be prescribed postoperatively, than respondents with >5 years of experience (44.2%) (P = 0.029). Conclusions: This study identified the different practices used for managing ventilation tube blockage postoperatively. Further studies are required to determine optimal approaches for the prevention of postoperative tube blockage.