The Role of Eustachian Tube Auto-Inflation in Radiation-Induced Otitis Media With Effusion

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty (BET) plus tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI) combined with Eustachian tube auto-inflation (ETA) in patients with radiation-induced otitis media with effusion (RI-OME) secondary to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Study design: Prospective randomized controlled trial. Setting: Class A tertiary general hospital. Patients: Sixty-one patients with RI-OME with a follow-up for 12 months. Interventions: Patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to the control group (BET+TTI) and treatment group (BET+TTI+ETA). Main outcome measures: The efficacy was evaluated by Eustachian Tube Scores (ETS), Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7), and hearing threshold. All patients were followed up at 1, 6, and 12 months post-surgery. Results: Both groups demonstrated significant postoperative improvements in ETS, ETDQ-7 scores, and hearing threshold compared with baseline values ( P <0.05), with maximal therapeutic effects observed at 6 months followed by gradual decline. Notably, the treatment group showed significantly greater improvements in all 3 parameters than the control group at 6-month and 12-month follow-up ( P <0.05). Conclusions: During the 12-month follow-up period, BET+TTI surgery demonstrated efficacy in improving both Eustachian tube function scores and hearing parameters in RI-OME patients, with adjunctive ETA therapy providing additional therapeutic enhancement.