Abstract
Conclusion: The present study shows that 2–3 weeks after medical treatment the status of middle ear mucosa in draining ears is similar to that of dry ears for at least 3 months.
Objective: To measure the time required for an inflamed middle ear mucosa to return into optimal state after appropriate medical treatment in chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). To assess optimal timing for elective surgical treatment of draining ears in uncomplicated CSOM.
Methods: In this prospective study, the Eustachian tube (ET) mucociliary clearance time (MCT) was used as the method to demonstrate the status of middle ear mucosa. In group 1 (28 patients) ET-MCT was measured in ears that were free of drainage for at least 3 months. In Group 2 (21 patients), ET-MCT was measured in draining ears, who responded to 10–14 days medical treatment, at presentation, after 10 days and 1 month.
Results: The ET-MCT was 8.63 ± 1.32 min in group 1 and 28.96 ± 8.19 min in group 2 at presentation; and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The ET-MCT was 14.76 ± 5.11 min after 10 days and 9.31 ± 2.33 min after 1 month in group 2. The ET-MCT was indifferent between groups 1 and 2 after 1 month (p = 0.235).
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Assistant Professor Fürüzan Köktürk, from the Biostatistics department of Bülent Ecevit University Faculty of Medicine, for performing the statistical analysis of the study and to Eileen Remley, from the article support office of Bülent Ecevit University, for English language editing of the article.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.