Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2026 Apr 3;204:112816. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112816. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, causes of readmission, postoperative complications, and auditory outcomes of pediatric patients in whom otitis media with effusion (OME) was detected during cochlear implant (CI) surgery.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed medical records and audiological follow-up data of 461 ears from 243 patients who underwent CI surgery. Postoperative complications were analyzed in the entire cohort. For audiological outcome analysis, 25 ears with intraoperatively detected OME were compared with 25 randomly selected ears without OME and with similar clinical characteristics to ensure balanced group sizes and reduce potential confounding. Appropriate parametric tests were applied, and effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d and Cramér’s V.
RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the OME and control groups regarding age or gender distribution (p > 0.05). Pure-tone average and most audiological parameters did not differ significantly between groups. However, the Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) was significantly lower in the OME group compared with the control group (p = 0.012, d = -0.741). Postoperative infection occurred more frequently in ears with OME than in those without (12.0% vs. 2.5%), and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.035).
CONCLUSION: Although the presence of OME during CI surgery is associated with an increased risk of postoperative infection, the clinical effect size is limited. OME does not appear to adversely affect overall auditory performance. With appropriate perioperative management and follow-up, OME should not be considered an absolute contraindication for cochlear implantation in pediatric patients.
PMID:41936177 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112816
