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Evidence summaries

Screening for the Detection of Otitis Media with Effusion and Conductive Hearing Loss

Screening children for otitis media with effusion may not be effective in promoting language development, although grommets and adenoidectomy offer modest improvement in hearing. Level of evidence: "C"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included no trials comparing outcomes for children randomised to be screened or not to be screened for otitis media with effusion (OME). Three trials (n=668) evaluated interventions for OME among children with OME identified through screening. These trials provided no evidence of clinically important benefit in language development from screening and treating children with clinically important OME. Although there was a beneficial effect on the resolution of OME and improved hearing in the short-term (6 months), this effect largely disappeared in the long-term (12 months).

    References

    • Simpson SA, Thomas CL, van der Linden MK, Macmillan H, van der Wouden JC, Butler C. Identification of children in the first four years of life for early treatment for otitis media with effusion. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007 Jan 24;(1):CD004163 [Review content assessed as up-to-date: 29 June 2009]. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords