New Clinical Practice Guideline on Tympanostomy Tubes in Children

Abstract

Drs Simon and Baldassari have disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has published a clinical practice guideline on tympanostomy tubes (TT) in children.1 TT insertion is the most common surgery performed in children, with about 667,000 procedures performed per year in the United States in children under age 15 years.2 The purpose of this new guideline is to provide clinicians with evidence-based recommendations on patient selection, surgical indications, and management of tympanostomy tubes in children aged 6 months to 12 years. The guideline consists of 12 key recommendations. After stating that TT insertion is not recommended for a child with a single episode of …