Treatment of Serous Otitis Media

Serous otitis media is a serosal inflammation of the mucous membrane of the auditory tube and the tympanic cavity which develops on the background of Eustachian tube dysfunction. It is characterized by the presence of seromucous exudate in the tympanic cavity. The disease occurs more often in children than adults. The objective of the research was to compare the effectiveness of different methods of treating serous otitis media. Materials and methods. The study included 46 patients with serous otitis media at the age of 22-55 years. There were 26 females and 20 males who were treated as inpatients and outpatients in the department of microsurgery of ENT-organs in Ivano-Frankivsk Central City Clinical Hospital during 2012-2016. Disease duration ranged from 10-15 days to 1 month. In all the patients, serous otitis media developed on the background of persistent allergic rhinitis. All the patients underwent comprehensive examination: their complaints as well as anamnestic data were analyzed, ENT examination including the endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity and the nasopharynx, otoscopy, audiometry, impedancemetry and laboratory investigations was performed. All patients were divided into 2 groups: Group I included 21 patients receiving conservative therapy for allergic rhinitis and serous otitis media; Group II comprised 25 patients receiving conservative therapy for allergic rhinitis and treatment of serous otitis media applying myringotomy and bypass surgery of the tympanic cavity. Results. The analysis of the study revealed that in 9 patients of Group I, an improvement in hearing occurred on the third-fourth days after treatment. In 12 patients, treatment was ineffective. 14 patients of Group II who underwent myringotomy with the evacuation of the fluid from the tympanic cavity and subsequent injection of glucocorticoids into the tympanic cavity noted an improvement in hearing immediately after the procedure or the day after. In 11 patients of Group II, a thick mucous exudate was obtained during myringotomy. These patients underwent bypass surgery. The shunt was removed after a thorough cleaning of the tympanic cavity as well as the restoration of the auditory tube function. Conclusions. Myringotomy is more effective and rational method of treating serous otitis media. Myringotomy with subsequent bypass surgery is recommended for patients with a thick mucous exudate in the tympanic cavity in order to prevent chronic adhesive otitis as well as to perform a complete sanation of the tympanic cavity and to restore the auditory tube function