Tympanostomy Tubes in Children: A Clinical Practice Guideline

Target Population: Specialists, primary care clinicians, and allied health professionals involved in managing children aged 6 months to 12 years with tympanostomy tubes (TTs)

Purpose: To provide evidence-based recommendations on patient selection, surgical indications, and management for insertion of tympanostomy tubes — the most common ambulatory surgery performed in children in the U.S. Despite the frequency of insertion, no guidelines exist that provide specific indications for surgery. These guidelines were developed by a panel of experts who surveyed available literature and considered situations tube insertion was deemed optional, recommen…