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Pre-operative prediction of ‘dry taps’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2008

S Henney ,
P Counter ,
S Mirza ,
P Gedling  and
C Watson
S Henney*
Affiliation:
Senior House Officer, Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, UK
P Counter
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Specialist Registrar James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
S Mirza
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Specialist Registrar James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
P Gedling
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Statistician Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Bishop Auckland, UK
C Watson
Affiliation:
Consultant ENT Surgeon ENT Department, Darlington Memorial Hospital, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr S Henney, ENT Dept., City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham, Wesd Midlands, B18 7QH Fax:  +44 (0)121 353 5432 E-mail: scott.henney@doctors.org.uk
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Abstract

Objectives:

The treatment of children with ‘glue ear’ often presents surgeons with the question of whether or not to insert a grommet when myringotomy reveals no fluid in the middle ear. We present a study designed to assess which factors contribute to the presence of a ‘dry tap’.

Design:

We prospectively gathered data from a cohort of 280 children (504 myringotomies). The cohort included two subgroups, one received halothane and nitrous oxide anaesthesia, and the other received enflurane anaesthesia.

Setting:

The ENT department of a district general hospital.

Participants:

Children (aged less than 17 years) requiring myringotomy.

Main outcome measures:

The presence of a ‘glue’ or dry tap at myringotomy was documented. We also recorded data on the following: pre- and post-induction tympanometry; age; season; anaesthetic type; and the delay from listing to actual operation.

Results:

A non type B pre-induction tympanogram and delay to operation were strong indications of finding a dry tap at surgery.

Conclusions:

In our study population, the proportion of dry taps at myringotomy was 18 per cent. The presence of a dry tap was rarely due to the induction of anaesthesia. Multivariate analysis revealed that the combination of factors most likely to predict a dry tap were non type B tympanogram and delay to operation.

Keywords

Otitis Media With EffusionVentilation TubesImpedance Audiometry
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 123 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 61 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2008

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