Post radiation middle ear status
Of the 59 patients presenting without effusion, eighteen patients (24.6%) eventually developed unilateral persistent post radiation MEE with only one patient of the 59 who developed bilateral MEE and was excluded. Risk factors for post radiation MEE were investigated and are presented in Table 2. Demographic parameters such as patient sex and age, T stage of primary tumor, pathological characteristics of the tumor and radiation dosage were not associated with the occurrence of post radiation MEE as compared with patients who did not develop MEE.
Interestingly the radiation modality whether 2D/3D-CRT or with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) had no correlation with development of MEE.
Similarly, radiation doses to the middle ear, ET, LVP and TVP were also not different between these groups. Furthermore, comparison between ears with MEE to ears without MEE in patients who developed unilateral post radiation MEE, did not reveal any difference in radiation doses to the middle ear, ET, LVP and TVP.