Health Care Utilization and Prescribing Patterns for Adult Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

ObjectiveEustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) prompts >2 million adult visits in the United States annually. While disease prevalence and health care utilization are established for children, practice patterns for adults remain unknown. Our objective was to determine national resource utilization for adult ETD.Study DesignCross-sectional study.SettingNational database sample.Subjects and MethodsThe Truven Health MarketScan Databases (2010-2014) analytic cohort included health care encounters of patients ≥18 years of age with a diagnosis of ETD, otitis media with effusion, or tympanic membrane retraction. Visits associated with recent diagnoses of acute upper respiratory infection, head and neck cancer, or radiation therapy were excluded. Acute ETD (<3 months) and chronic ETD (≥3 months) were subgroups. Medication usage was quantified by class.ResultsETD was diagnosed for 1,298,987 patients, 11% of which was chronic. Over 92% of patients were seen in outpatient clinics, most often by otolaryngology (57%) for ...