Abstract
Otitis media with effusion (OME) commonly occurs at childhood, whereas adult-onset OME is less common. The latter is generally secondary to neoplastic diseases of the nasopharynx or other head and neck tumors. We retrospectively studied 198 patients (260 ears) with adult-onset OME which needed grommet insertion at our department. Of 103 patients with head and neck cancers, 38.8% had OME before radiotherapy. Ear fullness and hearing impairment were the most common symptoms in these patients. The mean extrusion time of the ventilation tube was 8.6 months. If the ventilation tube was extruded, the recurrence rate of OME was higher in the head and neck cancer patients than that of the others. We suggest that nasopharyngeal examination is mandatory in the adult-onset OME patients. Longterm follow-up may be necessary to exclude the irreversible change of the Eustachian tube in the irradiated patients.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 360-365 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of the Otolaryngological Society of the Republic of China |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 1997 Jan 1 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Otorhinolaryngology