Biomedical subjects

S Thomas Westerman

Publications and source records attributed to S Thomas Westerman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Does otitis media in early childhood affect reading performance in later school years?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate reading performance in children with recurrent otitis media during childhood once middle-ear diseases have resolved and the children grew older. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Seventy-five children with middle-ear problems during childhood and poor reading performance in first grades and 60 healthy controls free of middle ear diseases were enrolled in the study. All children underwent an otologic and audiologic evaluation followed by reading tests. RESULTS: Reading performance was not affected once otitis media had been cured and hearing restored; reading scores of the healed children were almost the same as those of the otitis-free children (3.39% and 3.1%, respectively). Children who still suffer from middle-ear problems and hearing loss had an average percentage of reading mistakes of 7.3%. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Once children are cured from their middle-ear diseases and hearing is restored, previously noted reading impairments are no longer evident. Reading is still impaired among children who continue to suffer from middle-ear problems and hearing loss even when they grow older. EBM RATING: B-2b.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed2005

Reading performance in children with otitis media.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether middle ear diseases and the associated hearing loss in early childhood affect reading performance later at school. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: One hundred and sixty children, 6.5 to 8 years of age, were enrolled in this study: 80 children with a history of recurrent infections and/or prolonged periods of effusions of the middle ear before the age of 5 years, and 80 healthy children without any history of middle ear disease. Data were collected from the medical records of the children. Every child underwent a complete otological and audiological evaluation, followed by special reading tests. RESULTS: The study group performed more poorly, in all reading tests, as compared to the controls ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Children with recurrent or prolonged middle ear diseases during the first five years of life tend to be at greater risk for delayed reading than aged-matched controls with no previous middle ear diseases.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Paper patching for chronic tympanic membrane perforations.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the results of paper-patch myringoplasty in patients with chronic perforations of the tympanic membrane of different sizes. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective survey of paper-patch myringoplasties performed in a tertiary referral academic medical center on 77 patients with chronic perforations of the eardrum was carried out. Data consisted of the causes of the perforations, time the perforations had been present, their size, number of patch applications, duration of application, and number of successfully closed perforations. RESULTS: Closure rate was 63.2%, 43.5%, and 12.5% for small, medium, and large perforations, respectively. Small perforations needed the least number of repeated applications and the least time for closure. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Paper patching is technically simple, time saving, safe to perform, cost effective, and suitable as an outpatient procedure and has a good success rate, It should be tried in perforations smaller than 5 mm before a patient is referred for surgery.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Bilateral tinnitus due to middle-ear myoclonus.

Tinnitus is a common otological symptom. Usually it is subjective (perceived only by the patient); very rarely is it objective (heard by both the patient and the examiner) Objective tinnitus due to middle-ear myoclonus is extremely rare, with only a few case reports published in the literature. We present three cases of objective tinnitus caused by middle-ear myoclonus. All patients were cured by tympanotomy with stapedial and tensor tympani tendon section.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Ventilation tubes and persisting tympanic membrane perforations.

Surgical management of otitis media with effusion and recurrent acute otitis media includes myringotomy and the use of ventilation tubes. Since this procedure was reintroduced by Armstrong in 1954, it has become one of the most commonly performed operations in otolaryngology. In most series perforation of the tympanic membrane in some patients has been reported after spontaneous extrusion or removal of the tympanostomy tubes. We present a retrospective review designed to examine the incidence of persisting perforations of the tympanic membrane in our series of 2604 operated ears. The study also identifies and analyzes the variables and the contributing risk factors. Perforations occurred in 3.06% of the ears: with a greater incidence in children younger than 5 years, when the indication was recurrent purulent otitis media, with the use of long-term Goode T tubes, in cases with repeated insertions of ventilation tubes, and in cases in which postoperative otorrhea was frequent.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Safe extraction of an impacted open safety pin from the esophagus: report of 9 cases.

PURPOSE: Foreign body ingestion is a common problem in children. An infrequent ingested item is an open safety pin (SP), which may become lodged in the esophagus and presents the endoscopist a challenge to his surgical judgment and technical skills. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We present 9 cases of infants with open SPs impacted in the esophagus and discuss the different options to treat these cases. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The management of open SP ingestion is discussed, along with a review of the literature regarding this rare condition.

Child, Preschool↗