A prospective study of otitis media with effusion in adults and children

A prospective study of otitis media with effusion (OME) in both adults and children has been carried out. 75 new adult patients were seen during a 4-year period. Of these, 13 had associated diseases which could reasonably be considered to have been a cause of their effusion. Over a 2-year period, 192 new children with OME were seen. There was a significantly higher incidence of previous otalgia and/or aural discharge in the children as compared to the adults (P ≤ 0.001). The adults had significantly more serous effusions than the children (P ≤ 0.001), but both mucoid and serous effusions occurred in both groups. Similar rates of spontaneous resolution were observed in the 2 groups. Within the adult group, patients with a history of upper respiratory infection at the onset of hearing loss were significantly more likely to have spontaneous resolution of their effusion (P ≤ 0.02).