Association between secretory otitis media and laryngopharygeal reflux in adults

Abstract

Background

The relationship between Secretory Otitis Media (SOM) and Laryngopharygeal Reflux (LPR) hasn’t been well investigated in adult.

Purpose

To study the involvement of LPR- in adult SOM.

Methods

We analyzed 60 adult SOM patients who were admitted to Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, China from January 2022 to October 2022. First, we instructed the patients to fill Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) form and Reflux Finding Score (RFS). Second, Dx-ph monitor was used to monitor patients’ oropharyngeal PH for 24 h. Finally, we obtained Ryan index based on the characteristics of reflux events in different body postures. In addition, all patients were evaluated by the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire–7 (ETDQ-7).

Results

The positive rate of RSI and/or RFS scale was 73.33% (44/60) in 60 SOM patients. The positive rate of Ryan index was 76.67% (46/60), and the index was the highest in upright position in 60 SOM patients. The positive rate of ETDQ-7 was 100% (46/46) in 46 SOM patients with LPR.

Conclusion

LPR may be involved in SOM in adults by impairing the function of the eustachian tube.

Chinese abstract

背景：还没有对成人进行充分的关于分泌性中耳炎（SOM）与喉咽反流（LPR）的关系的调查。

目的：研究LPR对SOM成人患者的影响。

方法：对60例 2022年至2022年10月期间在安徽医科大学第一附属医院头颈外科耳鼻咽喉科就诊的SOM成人患者进行分析。首先, 我们指导患者填写反流症状指数（RSI）表和回流发现评分（RFS）。其次, 使用Dx-ph监测仪监测患者的口咽ph值24小时。最后, 我们根据不同身体姿势的反流事件的特点得出了Ryan指数。此外, 所有患者均通过咽鼓管功能障碍问卷 -7（ETDQ-7）得以评估。

结果：60例SOM患者的RSI阳性率和/或RFS量表为73.33%（44/60）。Ryan指数阳性率为76.67%（46/60）, 其中直立位阳性率最高。46例SOM伴LPR患者的ETDQ-7阳性率为100%（46/46）。

结论：LPR可能通过损害咽鼓管的功能而影响成人SOM。

Keywords:

• Secretory otitis media
• laryngopharygeal reflux
• ryan score
• reflux symptom index
• reflux finding score
• eustachian tube dysfunction questionnaire-7

Acknowledgments

Zongqing Fan reviewed the statistical analysis of this article.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, MD and YL; software, LL; validation, LL, and XY; formal analysis, XY; investigation, XY; resources, YL; data curation, LL; writing—original draft preparation, XY; writing—review and editing, XY, MD and ML; supervision, YL; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. All participants signed informed consent in the study.

Data availability statement

The data of this study were orinated from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding.