The diagnostic and prognostic value of eardrum mobility in otitis media with effusion.

Diagnostic and prognostic values of eardrum mobility were determined by pneumatic otoscopy in 37 patients (56 ears) having otitis media with effusion (OME). Eardrum mobility was impaired or lost in less than half of the ears (46.4%), while a tympanogram detected 77.8% of OME. In 27 of the 37 patients (42 of the 56 ears), aeration of the middle ear space was examined by CT and demonstrated that the presence or absence of aeration was significantly correlated with the presence or absence of eardrum mobility. In another 38 children (62 ears with OME), effect of antibiotics was correlated with eardrum mobility before treatment, and the improvement rate was found to be significantly higher in ears with positive mobility of eardrum (34.3%) than in ears without eardrum mobility (10.0%). These results indicate that eardrum mobility is a good prognostic indicator of OME rather than its diagnostic indicator alone.