Page 119 - Portuguese Journal - SPORL - Vol 61. Nº1

Figure 1
Diagram of patient selection for the study

were performed and described by a single tympanogram did not improve remained
investigator. The criteria for improvement of stable and did not get worse.
OME were based on three variants: parents’ Thus, considering the type B or type C
perception – if they reported an improvement tympanogram along with complaints from the
of the initially mentioned nasal, otologic, parents or otoscopy findings being compatible
or speech complaints at the time of the with OME, 90.5% of patients no longer had a
surgical proposal; otoscopy – normal findings; surgical indication for bilateral myringotomy
and tympanogram – improvement in the with tympanostomy tube insertion, and only
tympanometric curve. 9.5% (N=2) had an indication for surgery.

Results Discussion
Of the 21 assessed patients (12 boys and In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared
nine girls), 76% exhibited an improvement a public health emergency by the World
on ear examination and only 4.7% (n=1) had Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, most
worsened, with perforation of the tympanic countries implemented restrictive measures
membrane in a patient who previously only intending to contain the pandemic, including
had tympanic retraction. With regard to the the use of masks and social distancing. In
5
complaints of nasal congestion and delayed Portugal there were two lockdown periods
speech development, which were merely
subjective complaints of the parents, there Graph 1
was an improvement in 54.5% and 50% of Distribution of the three types of tympanograms
patients, respectively, and worsening in 0% in the study population before the lockdown
of patients. With regard to the symptoms, no
patient had OME in the last six months.
With regard to the tympanograms performed
before the lockdown, 62% and 38% of the
study population had type B and type C
tympanograms, respectively. No child had
a type A tympanogram. However, in our re-
evaluation during the lockdown, 81% of cases
had a type A tympanogram, 14% exhibited a
type C tympanogram, and 5% had a type B
tympanogram. Moreover, 86% of the patients
had improved and the three patients whose

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