Otitis media in children: to treat or not to treat?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C D Bluestone.
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We developed a canine animal model of subglottic stenosis following prolonged intubation with modified non-cuffed endotracheal tubes. None of the puppies intubated for seven days had an irreversible stenosing subglottic lesion, whereas all animals intubated for 14 days or more had at least a 40% to 50% reduction of the subglottic lumen secondary to maturing fibrotic stenosis. The model described is more congruent with the known and suspected pathogenesis in those infants and children who require prolonged endotracheal intubation and subsequently acquire subglottic stenosis, and can be used in evaluating the efficacy of medical therapy or surgical therapy, or both, in the prevention or management of this disease.
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Acquired subglottic stenosis is usually a consequence of prolonged endotracheal intubation. The present study describes a canine model of subglottis stenosis which is congruent with the known and suspected pathogenesis of the disease in man. Eighteen young pups (Canis familiaris) were used. A modified cuffed endotracheal tube was placed within the subglottis and secured by inflating the cuff. The capillary tube supplying the cuff was sealed and cut so as to lie below the epiglottis. Three animals died of tracheal rupture or collapse prior to or on the thirteen day following intubation. In the remaining animals, the cuffed tube was removed and the subglottis was examined. All exhibited ulcerations and exuberant polyploid granulations at the level of the subglottis and trachea. A 4 mm uncuffed endotracheal tube was introduced and secured within the subglottis and trachea of a number of the pups to provide an airway. After a 3-week period, the tube was removed and the dogs were sacrificed. Examination of the specimens showed various degrees of "hard" cicatricial stenosis of the subglottis and trachea. Histologic studies showed destruction of the cartilage with replacement by scar tissue and partial epithelialization. This model may be useful to investigations of the prevention and treatment of the disease.
We sought to correlate the clinical, radiographic, and bacteriologic findings in maxillary sinusitis in 30 children who had both upper-respiratory-tract symptoms and abnormal maxillary radiographs. Cough, nasal discharge, and fetid breath were the most common signs, but fever was present inconsistently. Facial pain or swelling and headache were prominent symptoms in older children. Bacterial colony counts of greater than or equal to 10(4) colony-forming units per milliliter were found in 34 of 47 sinus aspirates obtained from 23 children. The most common species recovered were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Branhamella catarrhalis. No anaerobic bacteria were isolated. Viruses were isolated from only two sinus aspirates. There was a poor correlation between the predominant species of bacteria recovered from either the nasopharyngeal or throat culture and the bacteria isolated from the sinus aspirate. This study demonstrates that children with both upper-respiratory-tract symptoms and abnormal sinus radiographs are likely to harbor bacteria in their sinuses, suggesting that such children have bacterial sinusitis.
Chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) has been assumed to be sterile, since several reports in the literature have described unsuccessful attempts to culture bacteria from it. However, several recent studies have confirmed an earlier report that there is a significant frequency of bacteria in the middle ears of children with chronic and/or recurrent OME. Similar studies in young infants with chronic and/or recurrent OME have not been previously reported. In this study, cultures were obtained at the time of myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion from 50 infants aged 1-12 months who had chronic and/or recurrent OME. From the 80 ears of 40 infants without cleft palate, 32% had bacteria isolated from their middle ears; 22% had Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae. In 21 of these ears, no effusion was apparent at myringotomy, but in 28% bacteria were isolated from middle ear washings. From the 20 ears of 10 infants with an unrepaired cleft palate, 55% had bacteria present in their middle ear aspirates; 50% had S. pneumoniae or H. influenzae. Even though the significance of bacteria in chronic OME in children, and now in young infants, is unclear at present, a therapeutic trial with an antimicrobial agent prior to surgical intervention would appear to be reasonable until such therapy is tested in a randomized, clinical trial.
1. Otitis media is one of the most common diseases of childhood. 2. Pathogenesis is related to eustachian tube dysfunction. 3. Etiology is primarily bacterial (S. pneumoniae, 40 per cent; H. influenzae, 20 per cent). Bacteria are also present in chronic otitis media with effusion ("secretory otitis"). 4. H. Influenzae is present in all age groups, and 15 to 30 per cent are ampicillin-resistant. 5. Diagnosis is by pneumatic otoscopy, or tympanometry, or both. 6. Tympanocentesis and/or myringotomy is important diagnostic-therapeutic procedure in selected patients. 7. Ampicillin (or amoxicillin) is initial therapy of choice. 8. Erythromycin and sulfonamide, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or cefaclor is recommended for those who have poor clinical response to initial antimicrobial therapy. 9. Efficacy is yet to be shown for antimicrobial prophylaxis, decongestants, antihistamines, myringotomy and tympanostomy tubes, and adenoidectomy with or without tonsillectomy. 10. Attendant conductive hearing loss is probably related to abnormalities in cognition, language, and learning.
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Eustachian tube function was evaluated in 27 children (32 ears) with tympanostomy tubes at 6-week intervals for 12 to 30 months. Using a modified inflation-deflation test of passive and active ventilatory function, it was found that the ears had persistent functional obstruction. Most ears exhibited no significant change in tubal function throughout the observation period. There was no difference in the ventilatory function when the nasal airway was congested (other than due to purulent upper respiratory tract infection) and not congested. However, significant seasonal effects on Eustachian tube ventilatory function were recorded: function was poorer in the winter than in the summer. No relationship was found between Eustachian tube ventilatory function and the age of the child.
The results of tympanoplastic surgery to repair a perforation of the tympanic membrane are less satisfactory in children than in adults. This paper reports the results of a propspective study of 45 children (51 ears) which was undertaken to determine which, if any, detectable and controllable pre or intraoperative parameters might predict the outcome of tympanoplasty surgery. A "successful" tympanoplasty was defined as that in which the initial graft took, in which the tympanic membrane remained intact, and which was not associated with high negative middle ear pressure, otitis media with effusion, or cholesteatoma during a follow-up period of one to two years. Assessment of hearing related to the tympanoplastic surgery was not included as an outcome measure. With this criteria, the overall success rate of tympanoplasty in children was 35%. The success of tympanoplasty was not related to graft placement, although the laterally placed grafts had a higher take rate (67%) than grafts placed medially (49%). Preoperative measures, such as the assessment of Eustachian tube function using the modified inflation-deflation test and tympanometric evaluation of the contralateral ear, failed to predict the success of tympanoplasty. Tympanoplasty universally failed in the ears in which an acquired cholesteatoma was present. Children remain uncertain candidates for tympanoplasty surgery since, as a group, their Eustachian tube function is not as good as that of adults.
A double-blind, randomized clinical trial comparing cefaclor with amoxycillin in the treatment of acute otitis media with effusion (OME) in infants and children is being conducted at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Although the randomization code has not yet been broken, the results of treating the first 55 children are reported, since they appear to be of interest. Of the 62 ears with acute OME on which an initial tympanocentesis was performed, 41 positive cultures were isolated from the middle ear aspirates. Of the 10 ears from which Haemophilus influenzae was isolated, one had a type b strain, and of the remaining unencapsulated strains, one was resistant to both penicillin G and ampicillin. In the one ear from which Staphylococcus aureus was isolated, the organism was found to be resistant to ampicillin. However, all of the organisms were sensitive in vitro to cefaclor. In 88% of all subjects observed for the first 2 weeks, the initial symptomatic response was excellent. Six children had persistent signs and symptoms of acute OME and received a second tympanocentesis; however, none of the effusions from the repeat aspiration revealed an organism. An effusion was still present in 97% of the ears after 3 days, in 69% after 2 weeks, and in 48% 6 weeks after initiation of the study. Tympanocentesis did not appear to affect either the initial clinical response or the persistence of effusion. There were no adverse reactions to either drug in this study. Because an apparent increase in the incidence of ampicillin-resistant strains of H. influenzae is being reported, and because of the presence of ampicillin-resistant S. aureus in some ears with acute OME, a new antimicrobial effective against all the common pathogens causing acute middle ear disease would be desirable. In this respect, the preliminary findings of treatment with cefaclor from this study appear promising.
As part of a prospective study of indications for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, we followed closely 65 children with histories of recurrent throat infection that seemed impressive (at least seven episodes in one year, five in each of two consecutive years or three in each of three consecutive years), but lacked documentation. During the first year of observation, only 11 children (17 per cent) had episodes of throat infection with clinical features and patterns of frequency conforming to those described in their presenting histories. Of the remaining 54 children, 43 (80 per cent) experienced no, one or two observed episodes each, and most of the episodes were mild. We conclude that undocumented histories of recurrent throat infection do not validly forecast subsequent experience and hence do not constitute an adequate basis for subjecting children to tonsillectomy.
A group of 12 children with acquired cholesteatoma had the ventilatory function of the Eustachian tube assessed by the inflation-deflation technique. All had varying degrees of functional rather than mechanical obstruction of the Eustachian tube. In these children, the pathogenesis of acquired cholesteatoma appeared to be the result of the following sequence of events: functional Eustachian tube obstruction, high negative middle ear pressure, atelectasis of the tympanic membrane-middle ear, a retraction pocket in either the posterosuperior or attic portion of the tympanic membrane, and adhesive otitis media. Tympanoplasty in these children was not successful. It is suggested that when the middle ear-mastoidectomy cavity is allowed to remain open, then the bony portion of the Eustachian tube should be surgically closed to prevent postoperative reflux of nasopharyngeal secretions.
A study was conducted of 274 children who had recurrent acute or chronic otitis media with effusion. Forty-five percent of the ears with effusion were found to contain bacteria, and 11% contained bacteria that were "probable pathogens" (S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, and S. pyogenes). Bacteria were also found in 40% of the ears without effusions. The type of organism found did not vary with the age of the patient studied or the season of the year. The significance of these bacteria in the etiology of recurrent acute or chronic otitis media with effusion remains to be demonstrated.
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