Dataset Information

Eustachian tube dysfunction: A diagnostic accuracy study and proposed diagnostic pathway.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is a commonly diagnosed disorder of Eustachian tube opening and closure, which may be associated with severe symptoms and middle ear disease. Currently the diagnosis of obstructive and patulous forms of ETD is primarily based on non-specific symptoms or examination findings, rather than measurement of the underlying function of the Eustachian tube. This has proved problematic when selecting patients for treatment, and when designing trial inclusion criteria and outcomes. This study aims to determine the correlation and diagnostic value of various tests of ET opening and patient reported outcome measures (PROMs), in order to generate a recommended diagnostic pathway for ETD.

Methods

Index tests included two PROMs and 14 tests of ET opening (nine for obstructive, five for patulous ETD). In the absence of an accepted reference standard two methods were adopted to establish index test accuracy: expert panel diagnosis and latent class analysis. Index test results were assessed with Pearson correlation and principle component analysis, and test accuracy was determined. Logistic regression models assessed the predictive value of grouped test results.

Results

The expert panel diagnosis and PROMs results correlated with each other, but not with ET function measured by tests of ET opening. All index tests were found to be feasible in clinic, and acceptable to patients. PROMs had very poor specificity, and no diagnostic value. Combining the results of tests of ET function appeared beneficial. The latent class model suggested tympanometry, sonotubometry and tubomanometry have the best diagnostic performance for obstructive ETD, and these are included in a proposed diagnostic pathway.

Conclusions

ETD should be diagnosed on the basis of clinical assessment and tests of ET opening, as PROMs have no diagnostic value. Currently diagnostic uncertainty exists for some patients who appear to have intermittent ETD clinically, but have negative index test results.

SUBMITTER: Smith ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224095 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundOne of the important pathogeneses of eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is nasal inflammatory disease. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) in adults ranges from 10 to 30% worldwide. However, research on the status of eustachian tubes in AR patients is still very limited.MethodsThis prospective controlled cross-sectional study recruited 59 volunteers and 59 patients with AR from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for AR symptoms and seven-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) scores were collected for both groups. Nasal endoscopy, tympanography and eustachian tube pressure measurement (tubomanometry, TMM) were used for objective assessment. All AR patients underwent 1 month of treatment with mometasone furoate nasal spray and oral loratadine. Then, the nasal condition and eustachian tube status were again evaluated.ResultsTMM examination revealed that 22 patients (39 ears, 33.1%) among the AR patients and 5 healthy controls (7 ears, 5.9%) had abnormal eustachian pressure. Twenty-two AR patients (37.3%) and 9 healthy controls had an ETDQ-7 score ≥ 15. With regard to nasal symptoms of AR, the VAS scores of nasal obstruction were correlated with the ETDQ-7 scores, and the correlation coefficient was r = 0.5124 (p < 0.0001). Nasal endoscopic scores were also positively correlated with ETDQ-7 scores, with a correlation coefficient of 0.7328 (p < 0.0001). After 1 month of treatment, VAS scores of nasal symptoms, endoscopic scores and ETDQ-7 scores were significantly decreased in AR patients (p < 0.0001), and TMM examination also suggested that eustachian tube function was significantly improved after treatment (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsAR patients, especially those with severe nasal obstruction, could have ETD. The local conditions of the pharyngeal orifices of the eustachian tubes are closely related to the symptoms of ETD. After treatment with nasal glucocorticoids and oral antihistamines, eustachian tube function can significantly improve as nasal symptoms subside.Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registery (ChiCTR2000029071) Registered 12 January 2020-Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=48328&htm=4.

Project description:OBJECTIVE:The objective is to describe characteristics of patients diagnosed with patulous Eustachian tube (PET) using the Diagnostic Criteria proposed by Japan Otological Society, and to evaluate the efficiency of objective tests to determine patent Eustachian tube. STUDY DESIGN:Retrospective. SETTING:Tertiary referral center. SUBJECTS:A retrospective survey of medical records in Sen-En Rifu Hospital identified 78 ears of 56 patients with "Definite PET" diagnosed by the JOS Diagnostic Criteria between January 2017 and December 2017. METHOD:Initial diagnosis, aural symptoms (voice autophony, aural fullness and breathing autophony), tubal obstruction procedures (posture change and pharyngeal orifice obstruction) and objective findings (tympanic membrane movement, Tubo-Tympano-Aerodynamic Graphy (TTAG) and sonotubometry) were evaluated. In addition, sonotubometry with postural change (Ohta's method), sitting CT and a newly devised PHI-10 score were also examined. RESULTS:Voice autophony, aural fullness, and breathing autophony were observed in 93.6%, 87.2%, 78.2%, respectively. In 91% of the ears, PET symptoms improved by postural change from sitting to the lying / forward-bending position. Synchronous movement of the TM upon respiration was observed in 69.1% of the ears. Positive findings of TTAG were observed in 75.6% of ears. Positive findings of sonotubometry were found in 55.1% of ears. Sonotubometry with postural change (Ohta's method), when the cut-off value of over 10dB was used, was positive in 45.2% of ears. Newly devised PHI-10 score representing severity of subjective symptoms classifying patients into no handicap, mild handicap, moderate handicap and severe handicap were observed in 12.2%, 10.8%, 18.9% and 58.1% of ears, respectively. The evaluation of the extent of patency of the ET by sitting CT indicated completely open, closed-short, and closed-long, in 68.6%, 11.4% and 21.4% of ears, respectively. Compared to the closed group, the completely open group had a significantly higher frequency of positive breathing autophony, positive sonotubometry, and positive Ohta's method. CONCLUSION:The characteristics of main symptoms and the efficiency of various tests in PET diagnosis were analyzed based on data obtained from "Definite PET" patients diagnosed by the JOS Diagnostic Criteria. The greater the availability of tests to evaluate PET, the greater the opportunities to diagnose "Definite PET". In particular, tests measuring pressure transmission between the nasopharynx and middle ear, such as TM observation and TTAG, are more sensitive than sonotubometry measuring sound transmission.