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A Useful Tool to Measure Intra-individual Changes in Eustachian Tube Ventilatory Function

Niels van Heerbeek, MD, PhD; Stijn J. C. van der Avoort, MD; Gerhard A. Zielhuis, PhD; Cor W. R. J. Cremers, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;133(8):763-766.

Objective  To determine whether intra-individual changes in eustachian tube (ET) function induced by local application of a histamine phosphate solution can be detected using an improved sonotubometer.

Design  The function of the ET was measured with a revised sonotubometer before and after histamine was applied to the nasopharyngeal ostium of the ET.

Setting  Tertiary referral hospital.

Patients  Twenty-five otologically healthy adults.

Interventions  A histamine phosphate solution with a concentration of 16 mg/mL was applied to the nasopharyngeal ostium of the ET using a pressure nebulizer.

Main Outcome Measures  The number of openings during 10 acts of swallowing. This outcome value could range from 0 to 10. The number of ET openings before and after histamine application was compared.

Results  The mean number of ET openings dropped dramatically: from 8.4 before application of histamine to 2.7 after application. This difference was statistically significant; there was a mean difference of 5.6 (95% confidence interval, 4.4-6.9; P < .001).

Conclusion  Sonotubometry is capable of detecting intra-individual changes in ET function and may therefore be a very useful tool in monitoring and/or clinical research of ET dysfunction or function.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Otorhinolaryngology (Drs van Heerbeek, van der Avoort, and Cremers) and Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Dr Zielhuis), Radboud University, Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.