Managing otitis media with effusion in young children. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

This Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians contains highlights from the Clinical Practice Guideline, Otitis Media with Effusion in Young Children. The Otitis Media Guideline Panel, a private-sector panel of health care providers, developed the Guideline after comprehensively analyzing the research literature and current scientific knowledge of the development, diagnosis, and treatment of otitis media with effusion in young children. Specific recommendations are given for the management of otitis media with effusion in young children age 1 through 3 years with no craniofacial or neurologic abnormalities or sensory deficits. The natural history of otitis media with effusion, the functional impairments that may result from otitis media with effusion, and the difficulty of measuring the effects of medical and surgical interventions on long-term outcomes are included. The medical interventions studied involve antibiotic therapy, steroid therapy, and antihistamine/decongestant therapy. The surgical interventions studied involve myringotomy with insertion of tympanostomy tubes, adenoidectomy, and tonsillectomy. Short-term outcomes addressed are resolution of effusion and restoration of hearing.