TY - JOUR ID - TI - Middle ear effusion: tympanometry versus operative findings AU - Ali A. Muttalib علي عبد المطلب PY - 2005 VL - 31 IS - 1 SP - 22 EP - 26 JO - Annals of the College of Medicine Mosul مجلة طب الموصل SN - 00271446 23096217 AB - Objective: To evaluate the role of tympanometry in predicting middle ear effusion by comparing results with the operative findings.
Design: A descriptive study concerned with 105 ears (57 patients) diagnosed as middle ear
effusion by tympanometry; type B, flat curve; that underwent myringotomy operation (with or without ventilation tube insertion).
setting: Department of ENT-Al-salam Teaching Hospital/Mosul for the period (April 2003 to September 2004). Tympanometry was performed in the Outpatient Clinic of Al-Jamhoori
Teaching Hospital.
Subjects: The study included 36 males and 21 females with a ratio of 1.7:1. The average age
was 6 years with a range of 3-12 years.
Methods: The parameters analyzed included age, sex and tympanometric results. Matching
between the suspected ears for middle ear effusion; type B, flat curve; and the operative
findings (fluid found in the middle ear at the time of myringotomy) was recorded.
Results: The diagnostic accuracy and examination success rate of tympanometry; type B, flat
curve; in predicting middle ear effusion was 71.4%. Moreover, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 97.2% , 57.3%,55.3% and 97.5% respectively. Thus, the positive likelihood ratio was 2.3.
Conclusion: The accuracy rate of tympanometry in predicting middle ear effusion showed a fair validity for its exclusion. The use of pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry together improves the accuracy of diagnosis.
Key words: Tympanometry, middle ear effusion, myringotomy.

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