Does Adenoidectomy Prevent Recurrent Otitis in Young Children?

The authors from Helsinki University Central Hospital, Tampere University Hospital, and National Public Health Institute, Finland, conducted a prospective study comparing adenoidectomy and tympanostomy with tympanostomy alone in preventing acute otitis media (AOM) in children younger than 2 years of age. Participants were selected from 2,497 children enrolled in the Finnish Otitis Media Vaccine Trial.¹ A diagnosis of AOM was made if there were signs of effusion and symptoms related to acute otitis. Signs of effusion included “a visually abnormal membrane…suggesting middle ear effusion.” Symptoms included fever, ear pain, signs of upper respiratory infection, irritability, diarrhea, vomiting, or discharge from the ear. A total of 306 children between ages 1 and 2 who had experienced recurrent AOM (defined as 3 to 5 episodes of AOM during the last 6 months or 4 to 6 episodes of AOM during the past 12 months) were randomized into 1 of 2 groups. One hundred sixty-two of the 306 children were randomized to undergo tympanostomy alone and 144 to undergo tympanostomy and adenoidectomy. …