Middle-ear disease in children with cleft palate.

Objective: The objective of this review is to summarize all aspects of middle ear diseases in children with cleft palate (CP).

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and The Cochrane Library were searched for English-language randomized control trials (RCTs), meta-analyses, systematic reviews and observational studies published through 31st July 2017.

Results: Epidemiology and pathogenesis of middle ear diseases in children with cleft palate have been discussed in this review. Methods of Evaluation, CP surgeries, complications and follow up have been detailed for the same.

Conclusion: Evaluation of middle-ear disease in children with CP begins at birth by a newborn hearing screen. Tympanometry and otoscopy helps screen for middle-ear disease during follow-up visits. Ventilation tube may be placed when indicated based on the patient's clinical course and presentation. Long-term follow up should be provided to look for the development of cholesteatoma.