Glue ear treatment with topical drugs analyzed
Expensive surgery and unnecessary secondary referral can be avoided by patients afflicted with otitis media with effusion (OME) through non-surgical treatment options.
The cost efficacy of topical intranasal steroids to treat otitis media with effusion (OME) in primary care from the perspective of the UK National Health Service was evaluated by a recent study.
From MedicalNewsToday.com:
Epidemiological studies of OME reveal that it affects 50-80% of children by the age of five. Without effective intervention, severe OME can cause significant hearing loss, which may result in linguistic, developmental, behavioural, motor and social impairment. Although many OME cases resolve spontaneously, referral rates from primary care remain high, with approximately 1-5 per 1000 children in the general population undergoing surgery (grommets) each year.
The study was led by Dr. Stavros Petrou from the University of Oxford.
Says Dr. Petrou: “This study demonstrates that the current use of topical steroids for OME is unlikely to represent an efficient use of scare public resources.”
This will be discussed in detail in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research.
Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 5,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.
The study, led by Dr. Stavros Petrou from the University of Oxford, demonstrated that topical steroids are unlikely to be a cost-effective option to treat OME in general practice.
Tags: OME, Steroids, surgery, topical steroids
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