Effects of myringotomy and orally administered drugs on viscosity and elasticity of middle ear effusions from children with otitis media with effusion.

Clinical and rheological studies were performed on 42 children with otitis media with effusion. Twenty-one patients received S-carboxymethylcysteine (group A), and the other 21 patients were administered Kampo medicine (group B), a Japanese traditional herbal medicine, for 4 weeks following myringotomy. At the end of the 4-week treatment period, 47.2% of the ears in group A and 40.5% in group B were regarded as being free from middle ear effusion (MEE). For rheologically thick MEEs, where the viscosity (eta') and elasticity (G') are much greater than the optimal values for mucociliary transport, post-treatment values of eta' for group A decreased significantly, but those of G' did not, in comparison with pre-treatment values. No such changes in either eta' or G' were observed in group B. Results suggests that the combined therapy for myringotomy and oral SCMC is effective for improving the rheological properties of thick MEE in children.