Clinical trial assessing the use of optical coherence tomography in decision making for children presenting with acute otitis media. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2026 Mar;202:112728
Date
01/18/2026Pubmed ID
41547297Pubmed Central ID
PMC13019881DOI
10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112728Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105027441404 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 1 CitationAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of patients presenting to a primary care provider with signs and symptoms suggesting acute otitis media (AOM).
DESIGN-SETTING-PARTICIPANTS: An NIH-funded clinical trial was conducted and enrolled 75 children between 1 and under 7 years of age. Children presented with complaints of ear pain or suspected ear infection from their caregiver history to primary care clinics associated with an academic children's hospital. These patients upon presentation were eligible to enroll in the trial. Following a complete history and physical exam, including pneumatic otoscopy (PO), patients were provided with a diagnosis and treatment plan. Diagnoses included: AOM, middle ear effusion without AOM, or no evidence of otitis media with a clear middle ear space. Following this, OCT was performed, and the diagnosis and treatment plan was reassessed using this data.
RESULTS: The diagnosis and/or treatment plan changed for 15.3 % of patients following the use of OCT compared with the initial use of PO. The greatest influence was seen in the patient group with MEE without AOM, with 36 % (5/14) of these patients having their diagnosis and/or treatment plan changed after OCT was employed.
CONCLUSIONS: OCT provides an additional adjunct for primary care providers to enhance visualization of the tympanic membrane and middle ear space. This data, in our clinical trial, resulted in enhanced clinical decision making, in particular for patients with MEE who were not diagnosed with AOM on PO.
TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Coherent Optical Detection of Middle Ear Disease (OCTII).
CLINICALTRIALS: gov ID number: NCT05353569.
Author List
Kerschner JE, Daley RA Jr, Link R, Jones RM, Peterson KJ, Chun RH, Flanary VA, Gorelik M, Keppel KL, Maksimoski M, Malloy M, Martin TJ, McCormick ME, Robey TC, Ansari S, Matoska GM, Rupcich CA, Saunderson ML, Shay SG, Sulman C, Erbe C, Thompson JK, Khampang P, Yan K, Simpson PM, Ho A, Monroy GL, Spillman DR, Aksamitiene E, Boppart SAAuthors
Robert H. Chun MD Professor in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of WisconsinKristina L. Keppel APP Outpatient in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Matthew Maksimoski MD Assistant Professor in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Michael E. McCormick MD Professor in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Thomas C. Robey MD Professor in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Pippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Jennifer K. Thompson APP Outpatient in the Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Ke Yan PhD, MS Associate Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Acute DiseaseChild
Child, Preschool
Clinical Decision-Making
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Otitis Media
Otoscopy
Tomography, Optical Coherence
