Grommets and Glue Ear: A Five-Year Follow up of a Controlled Trial 1

Material and methods Sixty children aged between 4 and 10 years with seromucinous otitis media in both ears were originally included, but 5 failed to attend for follow up, thus leaving a total of 55 (92% followup rate). In each instance the diagnosis was made on a careful history, otoscopy and pure tone audiometry. Under a general anaesthetic both ears were inspected with the microscope, and at random selection only one ear was drained and a Shephard grommet was inserted anteroinferiorly through a radial incision. A careful adenoidectomy was performed, along with whatever other surgery was required in the upper respiratory tract. Pure tone audiometry was repeated forty-eight hours postoperatively and prior to discharge from hospital. Thereafter, follow up was carried out at three-monthly intervals for the first year and then reviewed five years later. On each visit otoscopy and pure tone audiometry were performed and at the five-year review impedance measurement was also carried out.