Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Value (n=682) |
|---|---|
| Mean age (years) | 3.8 |
| Median (range) age (years) | 3.3 (0.5-13.6) |
| Female | 292 (42.8) |
| Race: | |
| White | 416 (61.0) |
| Black | 44 (6.4) |
| Hispanic | 82 (12.0) |
| Other (Asian, Pacific Islander ) | 39 (5.7) |
| Not reported | 101 (14.8) |
| Insurance: | |
| Medicaid | 142 (20.8) |
| Private | 511 (74.1) |
| Other* | 29 (4.2) |
| Previous tubes | 181 (26.5) |
| Any procedure at time of tube insertion† | 148 (21.7) |
| At risk conditions‡ | 118 (17.3) |
| Any abnormal audiogram during entire year | 495 (72.5) |
| Speech delay | 195 (28.5) |
| Marked otoscopic findings§ | 23 (3.3) |
| Severe disruption of family life | 15 (2.2) |
| History of unilateral or bilateral otitis media | 254 (37.3) |
*Self pay and no data.
†Includes otoscopy, external ear incision, tympanoplasty; head and neck procedures include laryngoscopy, tracheotomy, tooth extraction, ophthalmoscopy, and anaesthetised eye examination among other procedures; below neck procedures include venous catheter placement, hernia repair, circumcision, and orchiopexy among many other procedures.
‡Includes children with hearing loss independent of otitis media with effusion; language or speech disorder; autism and other developmental symptoms; and Down’s syndrome or other craniofacial syndromes that include cognitive, speech, or language delay, visual impairment, cleft palate, and developmental delay.
§Presence of any of severe tympanic membrane retraction, atelectasis or myringostapediopexy.