Page 120 - Portuguese Journal - SPORL - Vol 61. Nº1

Graph 2 been published that focused on the evolution
Distribution of the three types of tympanograms
in the study population during the lockdown
with closure of schools, one from March to
May 2020 and the other from January to
March 2021.
The present study is the first to focus on the
prevalence of OME during the COVID-19
lockdown in Portugal. In the re-evaluation
consultation, we found that there was a
significant change in the tympanometric
pattern, along with an improvement in the
complaints reported by parents and the
results of the ear examination. Thus, there
was a clinical improvement in OME in these
patients, with a reduction in AOMs and
prevalence of OME, as well as a reduction in
surgical indications.
We observed that social isolation and hygiene
measures (minimum social distance of 2
m, use of facial masks, and reinforcement
of hand sanitizing) were associated with an
improvement in the symptoms of OME. The
probable cause was the closure of schools,
which led to a reduction in infections of the
upper airways (adenoiditis) and subsequent
improvement of middle ear ventilation, as
demonstrated by the Austrian study by
Redlberger-Fritz et al. The wearing of masks
6
in this age group had a lesser role due to
non-compliance. In this sense, children who
continued attending classroom teaching were
excluded from this study.
Studies conducted in Europe have already
120 Portuguese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
of OME during the COVID-19 pandemic
lockdown. Toretta et al. showed that the
lockdown had a positive impact on the
treatment and prevention of OME. However,
7-9
the majority of the published articles are
retrospective studies with small samples
and lacked control groups because they
were conducted during the lockdown. 1,7,10
In addition to these limitations, the present
study did not use questionnaires validated in
Portuguese for investigating the progression
of symptoms. Furthermore, the assessment
of patients in the pre-COVID-19 period was
performed by different physicians. Therefore,
it is difficult to draw general conclusions about
a direct relationship between the lockdown
and control of OME; however, we believe it is
important to disseminate the results of this
observational study which was conducted
under the specific conditions of the COVID-19
lockdown.
Conclusion
There was an overall improvement in OME in
our sample of children during social isolation.
Approximately 90% of these children were
cured and did not need surgical treatment.
This finding is in line with those reported in
the published literature and highlights the
role of the factors that determine the non-
surgical resolution of childhood chronic OME,
such as environmental control (not attending
school for a specific time period). However,
prospective studies with control groups
should be conducted to allow more reliable
conclusions.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict
of interests regarding the publication of this
paper.
Data Confidentiality
The authors declare having followed the
protocols in use at their working center
regarding patients’ data publication.