Efficacy of tympanostomy tube placement with adjuvant adenoidectomy in children less than 4 years of age.

OBJECTIVE: About 8.6 % of children in the United States undergo tympanostomy tube (TT) placement every year. Of these, 24.1 % require a second set of tubes. Adjuvant adenoidectomy in children over 4 years is thought to improve the efficacy of TT. The goal of this study is to characterize the efficacy of adjuvant adenoidectomy at the time of TT placement in children under 4 years, to further improve middle ear function.

METHODS: All patients undergoing TT placement alone or TT placement with adenoidectomy from 2014 to 2016 were reviewed. The primary outcome was need for subsequent tube placement.

RESULTS: A total of 409 patients were included in the study (60.6 % male, 39.4 % female). Median age at initial TT placement was 18 months (range 5-48 months); extreme outliers for age were removed from further analysis. Patients were followed for 1-8 years. 250 patients received TT alone while 159 received TT with adenoidectomy. 120 required a second set of tubes. There was a statistically significant benefit to those undergoing adjuvant adenoidectomy with TT placement: 33.6 % of those receiving TT alone required subsequent tubes, whereas only 22.6 % of patients who underwent TT with adjuvant adenoidectomy required reinsertion (X2  = 5.630, p = 0.018). Adjuvant adenoidectomy in patients 0-48 months was associated with decreased likelihood of requiring subsequent tube placement (OR = 0.578, p = 0.018). There was an increased likelihood of experiencing otorrhea in those receiving TT alone compared to the TT with adenoidectomy group (X2  = 4.353, df = 1, p = 0.0369).

CONCLUSION: Adjuvant adenoidectomy at the time of initial TT placement may have a role in the management of chronic middle ear disease in patients younger than 4 years. However, further studies and prospective randomized studies are needed to explore if this benefit can also be seen in children without chronic rhinosinusitis or nasal obstruction. The benefit-risk ratio from adenoidectomy and modifications in anesthesia technique in the case of adjuvant adenoidectomy should also be further explored.