Pediatric Cochlear Implantation

Abstract

A computerized PubMed search of MEDLINE 1966–January 2005 was performed. The medical subject headings “otitis media” and “rniddle ear ventilation” were exploded and the resulting articles were combined. These articles were then cross-referenced with articles mapping to the medical subject headings or text words “cochlear implantation” or “cochlear implants” yielding 61 articles. These articles were then reviewed to identify those that met the following inclusion criteria: 1) pediatric patient population (<18 years old) undergoing cochlear implantation, 2) intervention in children with, ideally versus without, frequent or recent acute otitis media (AOM), 3) outcome measured in terms of episodes of post-implant AOM and its complications. Articles in which serous non-AOM with effusion alone were studied were excluded, as were articles focusing on patients with chronic suppurative otitis media. Also, articles in which data from children were lumped together with data from adults were excluded.