Pre-treatment of wax in patients accessing a wax removal service Ear, Nose and Throat
Conditions
Interventions
The research study is a two-arm cluster randomised control trial. The clusters refer to GP practices and the two arms refer to the pre-treatment of olive oil drops and olive oil spray. The pre-treatme
Sponsors
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Adults over 18 years of age 2. Able to give informed consent for microsuction 3. Presence of wax in one or both ears giving rise to symptoms or need that warrant removal
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Under 18 years of age 2. Active ear infection 3. Active dermatitis 4. Perforated or non-intact tympanic membrane 5. Foreign body present in ear canal 6. Any contraindication for microsuction or use of wax softeners – previous ear surgery including mastoid obliteration; grommets in situ
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The success and effectiveness of wax removal will be measured by comparing the proportion of patients where wax removal is successful at the first attempt, not needing a further visit, with those who need another visit for a re-attempt at removal. This is determined by the Audiology Practitioner immediately after microsuction. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Self-reported needs and symptoms assessed immediately following wax removal. The wax removal pathway is a needs-based pathway and each patient being seen for wax removal is asked about their main need/symptom for accessing the service. These needs/symptoms are documented by the Audiology Practitioner. Following the wax removal, the Audiology Practitioner asks the patient to rate how much improvement there is in their reported need/symptom on a five-point scale (much better, slightly better, about the same, slightly worse, much worse). 2. Post-microsuction visualisation ratings for the two groups as rated on an analogue scale immediately after microsuction is complete, assessed using the ratings below: 0 No or very minimal earwax, complete visualisation of tympanic membrane 1 Minor amount of earwax with majority of tympanic membrane visible 2 Moderate amount of earwax with only part of the tympanic membrane visible 3 Fully occluding wax, no visualisation of tympanic membrane 3. Adverse events of microsuction recorded as per normal clinical practice, any that occur in clinic during or immediately after microsuction and any reported by patients up to 1 week after microsuction. | — |
Countries
United Kingdom, Wales
Contacts
Public ContactLinor Jones
Outcome results
None listed