Impact of COVID-19 on nationwide pediatric otolaryngology: Otitis media and myringotomy tube trends

PURPOSE: The pandemic related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a decrease in communicable diseases due to social distancing and mask-wearing. How have the prevalence of otitis media (OM) and its associated procedures changed during the pandemic? STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective Cohort Study. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Pediatric Health Information System® (PHIS) database, which consists of 48 children's hospitals. Regions were defined according to PHIS rules. We compared proportion of OM to total diagnoses codes, and collected mastoiditis, and MT placements from all encounters through January 1, 2019-June 31, 2021. RESULTS: In April 2020, there was a decrease in mean proportion of OM cases per 100 hospital visits (7 v. 2, p < 0.0001) and this was sustained through 2020 and until June 2021 (6–7 v. 2–4, p < 0.05; p < 0.05). Compared to 2020, the months of April and June 2021 showed an increase in mean proportion of OM cases (6–7 v. 3–4, p < 0.05) while May did not. This relative increase in OM cases through April–June were primarily driven by the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast in April and the South and the Midwest in June. MT procedures followed similar trends. In 2020, there was no difference in mastoiditis as a proportion of OM cases compared to 2019 however there was a statistically higher rate of mastoiditis in 2020 compared to 2021. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic led to declines in OM and MT case volumes that have started to increase. A geographic relationship may exist, and this connection could be influenced by mask mandates and social distancing.