Evaluation of Prevalence and Factors Affecting the Development of Middle Ear Effusion in Patients with Prolonged Intubation in Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Objective: Monitorization of patients in intensive care units requires a multidisciplinary approach. As cooperation with unconscious or intubated patients is often not possible, some conditions may be overlooked. The aim of this study is to reveal the incidence and factors affecting otitis media with effusion in ICU patients intubated longer than 7 days. Methods: Twenty patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Gaziosmanpasa Taksim Training and Research Hospital from March to December 2014 were included in the study. The Gaziosmanpasa Taksim Training and Research Hospital Ethics Committee approved the study according to the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practices guidelines. All of the patients included in the study were aged ≥18 years. Patients intubated because of traffic accidents or trauma, patients with a history of chronic otitis media or ear, nose, and throat operations, patients with head and neck tumors, and patients with tympanic membrane perforation, external auditory canal pathology, nasopharyngeal mass, and chronic sinusitis as well as patients with a pathology leading to nasal obstruction, such as nasal polyposis or severe septal deviation, were excluded. After a detailed history by patients’ relatives, an otoscopic examination, nasal examination, tympanometry, and acoustic reflex measurements were performed. Ear examination was performed using a conventional portable otoscope. Results: Among 20 patients, 12 had bilateral effusion (24 out of 40 ears, 60%). In two patients, a type C tympanogram was obtained (four out of 40 ears, 10%), and the remaining 12 ears of six patients were normal (30%). When intubation time is evaluated, among 13 patients intubated longer than 14 days, 11 had effusion (84%). A significant correlation was found between the duration of intubation and effusion development. Assessing the state of consciousness, 11 of 12 unconscious patients (91%) were found to have effusion. There was a significant correlation between effusion development and state of consciousness. Conclusion: In unconscious patients intubated longer than 14 days, the risk of having middle ear effusion is demonstrated to be higher. Consequently, in the periodic follow-up of intensive care patients with prolonged intubation, a routine otoscopic examination has to be considered. (JAREM 2015; 5: 64-7)