Introduction: Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) commonly affects children causing ear pain, pressure, and hearing difficulties. ETD is commonly managed with medications and surgical interventions. Previous studies in the adult population report that balloon eustachian tube dilation is a safe and efficacious treatment for ETD. Few studies have been conducted in the pediatric population and have all had promising results regarding the efficacy and safety of tube dilation. The objective of our study is to determine the efficacy and complications of balloon dilation in pediatric patients with ETD.
Methods: Pediatric patients who received a bilateral tube dilation for ETD were included in this study. Participants were separated into three groups. One group consisted of patients with an ETDQ-7 survey score pre-and post-dilation. Significant improvement of ETDQ7 was defined as a mean score less than 2.1. The second group consisted of patients who completed a pre-and post-dilation tympanogram. Improvement in tympanogram occurred if the tympanogram changed from type B to A, B to C, or A to A. And the last group were patients who completed both the survey and tympanogram. Data was collected and further analyzed to determine post-surgical outcomes and complications.
Results: A total of 28 patients were assessed for ETD dilation efficacy between the ages of 8 and 18. A total of 14 patients completed the pre-and post-dilation ETDQ7 with 42.8% of patients noting improvement. Twenty-eight patients had a pre-and post-dilation tympanogram and 53.6% of patients experienced an improvement in their tympanogram. Ten patients completed both the ETDQ-7 and tympanogram. Of this group, 3 patients improved in both ETDQ7 and tympanogram, 1 improved in just the survey, and 3 noted improvements in the tympanogram alone. A total of 3 patients had no improvement in both areas. There were no complications associated with the procedures.
Conclusion: Pediatric patients who underwent eustachian tube dilation surgery experienced improvement in symptoms and tympanogram with no complications.