5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study is being done to see if reflux of stomach fluid might be a cause of chronic fluid in the ears. Our hypothesis is that treatment with an anti-reflux medication (lansoprazole) will increase the rate of resolution of chronic middle ear fluid in children.
The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to compare the results of ear tube placement in two different parts of the ear drum. The ear drum can be divided into four parts (called quadrants). Ear tubes are usually placed in one section of the ear drum, called the anterior-inferior quadrant. However, tubes can also be placed in another section, called the posterior-inferior quadrant. Ear tubes usually fall out of the ear drum on their own. In most patients, the hole in the ear drum where the tube used to be closes on its own. Sometimes (in about 2% of patients), the hole does not close on its own and might need surgery. We want to study ear tube placement in the posterior-inferior quadrant because surgery to repair a hole in the eardrum is easier in this location. For this study, children will receive an ear tube in the usual location (anterior-inferior quadrant) in one ear and the new location (posterior-inferior quadrant) in the other ear. Researchers will determine which ear has the new location using random assignment (like flipping a coin). Researchers will collect information about hearing tests, whether there is ear drainage (otorrhea), if the tube is blocked (occluded), and how the ear drum looks for up to 37 months after tube placement. Participants will answer study questions at 2-12 weeks and 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months after surgery. These questions will ask about whether tubes have fallen out of the ear drum, whether there is a hole in the ear drum, whether there has been drainage from the ear or other ear symptoms, and whether there have been any visits to the doctor for ear problems. Researchers will use this information to compare ears with anterior-inferior tube placement and ears with posterior-inferior tube placement to see if there are differences in common complications following tube placement.
The aim of this study is to provide preliminary data to support future studies to demonstrate that the short wave infrared (SWIR) otoscope is a better diagnostic tool than a white light otoscope for diagnosing middle ear infections (otitis media). Patients who are having a tympanostomy tube placement procedure will be participating in this study. Imaging will be performed with the white light otoscope and the SWIR otoscope to determine presence of absence of fluid. The SWIR otoscope will gather SWIR data and white light data simultaneously. As part of standard of care, patients who come in for this procedure have removal of middle ear fluid as part of their procedure, which will confirm presence or absence of fluid.
This study is to measure over time (from 3 years until 13 years of age) Eustachian tube function (the way the Eustachian tube works) and facial growth in groups of children with two types of middle-ear disease and with little past middle-ear disease. These measures will be used to determine if facial growth is related to improved Eustachian tube function, to see if the better function explains why young children who have middle-ear disease outgrow it as they get older, and to determine if these measures are different for the children in the three groups defined by disease history.
The questioned proposed by this study is one of treatment: "To what extent does simultaneous BMT (Bilateral Myringotomy with Tympanostomy Tubes), adenoidectomy, and diagnosis/avoidance of food allergy affect the frequency of recurrent otitis media (ROM) versus the standard academy approach (tube insertions only) to chronic otitis media with effusion; furthermore, are adenoids a factor in OME or is food allergy diagnosis and treatment able to significantly prevent ROM after the tubes fall out?" The trial seeks to provide evidence that the treatment for Chronic OME in children should involve surgical procedures (BMT +/- adenoidectomy), as well, as a food allergy work-up and subsequent avoidance of the offending foods in order to significantly decrease ROM. To answer this question, a prospective, randomized controlled trial needs to be conducted. Since a majority of OME patients are from the pediatric population, parental consent must be obtained. Subjects in our study will initially present to the clinic with otitis media symptoms and diagnostic tests such as a tympanogram, otoscopy, and history of recurrent otitis media will be obtained. Once the surgical decision for bilateral myringotomy and tympanostomy tubes has been made, parents will be informed about the trial. The standard protocol for children presenting with initial Chronic OME is to perform a BMT. Therefore, data from the control group (Group 1) will be obtained from faculty ENT who follow the academy's recommendations. Data from Group 2 and 3 will be collected from other ENT faculty members, including the faculty co-investigator who will perform the BMT and obtain a food allergy blood draw at the time of surgery. The study's faculty co-investigator will describe food avoidance techniques to post-op patients from Groups 2 and 3. Patients with previous adenotonsillar surgery or placement of tympanostomy tubes will not be enrolled in the study. The incidence of ROM episodes in all trial groups will be recorded.