Cover: Diagnosis, Natural History, and Late Effects of Otitis Media with Effusion

Diagnosis, Natural History, and Late Effects of Otitis Media with Effusion

Published in: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 55 (Prepared by Southern California/RAND Evidence-Based Practice Center, under Contract No. 290-97-0001). AHRQ Publication No. 02-E025. (Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, June 2002), 7 p

Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2002

by Glenn S. Takata, Linda S. Chan, Rita Mangione-Smith, Pamela M. Corley, Tricia Morphew, Sally C. Morton, Paul G. Shekelle

This evidence-based report reviews the evidence on the natural history of otitis media with effusion (OME), the impact of otitis media on long-term speech and language development and on hearing, and the operating characteristics of various methods of diagnosing otitis media with effusion. OME is defined as fluid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of ear infection. The evidence compiled in this report is intended to aid clinicians, health care provider organizations, and others to develop clinical practice guidelines or medical review criteria for OME. The report will also identify areas for future research.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.