Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Cure
Systematic review	Children with otitis media with effusion (OME; absolute numbers of children in RCT not reported) Data from 1 RCT	Cure with modified anaesthetic mask with no treatment Absolute results not reported	OR presented graphically P value not reported For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant
Systematic review	Children with OME (absolute numbers of children in each RCT not reported) 2 RCTs in this analysis	Cure with toy balloons (not further defined in the review) with no treatment Absolute results not reported	ORs for each RCT presented graphically P values not reported For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant
Hearing, effusion, or both
Systematic review	40 children with unilateral or bilateral disease aged 3 to 10 years Data from 1 RCT	Tympanogram improvement 3 weeks with autoinflation using a carnival balloon with no treatment Absolute results not reported	RR 0.27 95% CI 0.07 to 1.05 Results favoured the no intervention group For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant
Systematic review	40 children with unilateral or bilateral disease aged 3 to 10 years Data from 1 RCT	Improvement of pure tone audiogram (10 dB or greater improvement) 3 weeks with autoinflation using a carnival balloon with no treatment Absolute results not reported	RR 0.36 95% CI 0.09 to 1.46 Results favoured the no intervention group For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant
Systematic review	85 children with bilateral disease, aged 3 to 12 years Data from 1 RCT	Pure tone audiometry threshold 6 weeks with autoinflation using a carnival blower with no treatment Absolute results not reported	Mean difference +0.07 95% CI –3.44 to +3.58 For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant
Systematic review	85 children with bilateral disease, aged 3 to 12 years Data from 1 RCT	Mean change in middle-ear pressure (a tympanometry outcome) 6 weeks with autoinflation using a carnival blower with no treatment Absolute results not reported	Reported as not significant P value not reported For details on quality and methods of studies, see further information on studies		Not significant