Paper patching for patulous eustachian tube

Abstract

Background: Paper patching, a method that places cigarette paper over the most mobile quadrants of the tympanic membrane, is one of the treatment options for patulous eustachian tube (PET).

Aims/Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of two different treatment strategies for PET.

Material and methods: Twenty-three patients underwent paper patching of the tympanic membrane and 16 patients were treated with nasal saline irrigation with or without ipratropium bromide nasal spray. Medical records were reviewed for resolution of PET symptoms as categorical variables (complete remission, partial remission, or no improvement) with a minimum follow-up of 3 months.

Results: Immediately after undergoing paper patching, 20 of the 23 patients (87.0%) reported complete remission (CR). The percentage of CR after paper patching was 82.6% at 1 month and 65.2% at 3 months. A greater percentage of patients reported CR of aural symptoms in the paper patching group than in the nasal irrigation group at both 1 and 3 months after treatment (p < .05).

Conclusions and significance: Repetitive paper patching resolves aural discomfort in most PET patients for at least 3 months and can be considered as a first-line treatment option for PET in the outpatient setting.

Chinese abstract

背景：纸片修贴术是一种将卷烟纸放在鼓膜最易移动的部位的方法, 是扩张性咽鼓管（PET）的治疗方法之一。

目的：本研究的目的是比较两种不同治疗方法对PET的治疗效果。

材料与方法：二十三例患者接受了鼓膜修贴术；16例接受了鼻腔盐水灌洗治疗, 含或不含异丙托溴铵鼻喷雾剂。查看了医疗记录, 以确定PET症状的解决程度来作为分类变数（完全缓解、部分缓解或无改善）。随访期至少为3个月。

结果：23例患者中有20例（87.0%）在接受纸片修贴术后立即报告完全缓解（CR）。1个月贴纸后CR率为82.6%, 3个月贴纸后CR率为65.2%。在治疗后1个月和3个月内, 纸片修贴组的患者报告听觉症状的CR率高于鼻腔冲洗组（P<.05）。

结论与意义：重复性纸片修贴术可解决大多数PET患者的听力不适至少3个月, 可作为门诊治疗PET的一线治疗选择。

Keywords:

• Patulous eustachian tube
• paper patching
• nasal saline irrigation
• aural symptoms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (NRF-2017R1C1B5017839 for H.Y.L.), (NRF-2018R1A2B2005022 for Y.H.P.).