Introduction: Mastoid obliteration is used in paediatric chronic ear disease to reduce cavity-related morbidity and improve postoperative quality of life. Paediatric outcome data using validated patient-reported measures remain limited.
Aims: To evaluate disease-specific quality of life and hearing outcomes after mastoid obliteration surgery in a paediatric cohort.
Methods: We report a single-centre case series of 45 paediatric patients undergoing mastoid obliteration surgery. Outcomes were assessed pre-operatively and at 3 months post-operatively. The primary outcome was disease-specific health-related quality of life measured using the Chronic Otitis Media Questionnaire-12 (COMQ-12). Secondary outcomes included pure tone audiometry (PTA). Pre- and post-operative scores were compared using statistical testing.
Results: COMQ-12 scores demonstrated a significant average improvement of –4.96 (95% CI 2.81-7.11) post operatively. Greater improvements in post-op COMQ-12 scores were seen in patients with higher pre-op COMQ-12 scores. Improvements were maintained in patient subgroups who had concurrent co-morbidity and those who did not. There was no significant difference in PTA thresholds pre and post operatively.
Conclusion: In this paediatric case series, mastoid obliteration surgery was associated with a significant short-term improvement in disease-specific quality of life at 3 months, without a significant change in audiometric thresholds over the same period. These findings support mastoid obliteration as a procedure that can improve patient-reported outcomes in children while maintaining hearing in the early postoperative period.