Effect of the combination of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty and tympanic paracentesis on intractable chronic otitis media with effusion

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of the combination of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty (BET) and tympanic paracentesis (TP) on intractable chronic otitis media with effusion (COME).MethodsNinety patients with intractable COME were included and randomly assigned to three groups: BET only (30 patients), BET + paracentesis (30 patients), and paracentesis only (30 patients). Otic endoscopic findings and tympanograms were recorded before the surgery and at the month 1, month 3, and month 6 follow-up evaluations.ResultsBoth the BET only and BET + paracentesis groups achieved better outcomes than the paracentesis group. The BET + paracentesis group exhibited better otic endoscopic scores than the BET only group (p < 0.05) at 1 month post-operation. However, no significant difference was found at month 3 or month 6 post-operation. No significant difference in the tympanograms was observed between these two groups at month 1, month 3, or month 6 post-operation. The otic endoscopic sign scores improved from month 1 to month 6 in the BET only group and from month 1 to month 3 in the BET + paracentesis group. The conversion of type B tympanograms improved from month 1 to month 6 in the BET and BET + paracentesis groups but not in the paracentesis only group.ConclusionsOur results suggested that the combination of BET and TP was effective for intractable COME and can help shorten the recovery period for middle ear effusion.