Association Between Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 Scores and Eustachian Tube Function Test Results in Symptomatic Patients With a Normal Drum
- Author:
Seojin MOON
1
;
Yujin LEE
;
Jinsei JUNG
;
In Seok MOON
;
Seong Hoon BAE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Journal of Audiology & Otology 2022;26(3):142-146
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background and Objectives:We investigated the clinical validity of and correlation between the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) scores and the eustachian tube function test (ETFT) results in patients with a normal drum.
Subjects and Methods:The study included 49 patients (93 ears) with unilateral or bilateral ear fullness over >3 months. All patients were administered the ETDQ-7 survey and underwent the ETFT on the same day. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the association between the results were statistically analyzed.
Results:ETDQ-7 scores were not significantly correlated with the ETFT results or with middle ear pressure. ETDQ-7 scores in patients with eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) were significantly higher than those in patients with normal ETFT results (p=0.039) when ETD was defined as a pressure change <10 daPa on the ETFT. The area under the ROC curve was 0.631, with a sensitivity of 37.0% and specificity of 89.4%.
Conclusions:The ETDQ-7 has limited clinical significance in patients with ETD but a normal drum. Therefore, concomitant objective tests should be performed to diagnose patients with ETD.
