(1057) Sociodemographic Disparities in Patients Undergoing Repeat Tympanostomy Tube Placement

Introduction: Bilateral myringotomy with tympanostomy tube placement (BMT) is the most common surgery performed in children in the U.S. BMT is shown to improve patient quality of life and long-term patient outcomes, with certain populations more often requiring repeat BMT (rBMT). The aim of this study is to assess sociodemographic and medical factors associated with rBMT in the diverse patient population at our academic medical center.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of pediatric patients seen at a quaternary medical center who underwent BMT was conducted. Demographic, medical, and socioeconomic information was collected. Fisher’s exact test was used to estimate the association between rBMT with all nominal responses. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between patient variables and rBMT.

Results: There were 216 (69% male) patients who underwent rBMT. The mean number of BMT surgeries in those requiring rBMT was 3.09. 79% of patients with Down Syndrome required rBMT, with a mean of 5.42 procedures. Race, ethnicity, and insurance type all showed no statistically significant difference when comparing single BMT vs. rBMT (p > 0.05). Almost 30% of all pediatric patients who underwent BMT ended up requiring rBMT.

Conclusions: When looking at sociodemographic disparities in those who underwent rBMT, our study demonstrates race, ethnicity, type of insurance and distance from medical center were not statistically significant factors for likelihood of repeat BMT. In our diverse sociodemographic environment, there were closer to 30% of patients requiring rBMT, higher than the previously characterized 20% in the current literature.