[Results of the Ewing screening test and the risk of otitis media with effusion in children of preschool age]. / De uitslag van de Ewing-screening en de kans op otitis media met effusie op peuterleeftijd.

As part of an epidemiological study on screening and treatment of OME in pre-school children, the predictive value of Ewing screening was studied with regard to the incidence of recurrent and (or) persistent bilateral OME at pre-school age. The results show that children who failed the third Ewing test had a relative risk of 2.6 for chronic OME at the age of 2 to 4 years, compared with children who reacted well at the first Ewing test. Children who passed the third Ewing test had a relative risk of 1.5. Children who failed the first Ewing test but did not appear for the second had a relative risk of 1.8. The predictive value of an inadequate result of the third Ewing test was not related to the sex, to the season in which the test took place, or to a positive family history. These results support the continuing programme of Ewing screening in The Netherlands.