Revisiting the Diagnostic Performance of the Modified Nine-Step Test for Obstructive and Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Seong Hoon Bae; Seojin Moon; Mincheol Jeong; In Seok Moon

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12030732

Revisiting the Diagnostic Performance of the Modified Nine-Step Test for Obstructive and Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Seong Hoon Bae, Seojin Moon, Mincheol Jeong, In Seok Moon

Department of Otorhinolaryngology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The nine-step test is a classical method for evaluating Eustachian tube function. It directly assesses the patient’s capacity to equilibrate middle ear pressure by swallowing. However, there are insufficient studies to appraise its diagnostic performance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off value of the nine-step test in patients with obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (oETD) and patulous Eustachian tube (PET). Enrolled subjects were divided into three groups. Control (50 ears of healthy volunteers), oETD (19 ears with oETD), and PET (29 ears with PET). Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of maximal peak pressure difference (ETTmd) in the nine-step test. Both the oETD group and the PET group showed decreased ETTmd. The nine-step test showed moderate accuracy when used to diagnose oETD (area under the curve = 0.875) and PET (area under the curve = 0.769). The highest diagnostic performance was observed when the cut-off value was 13 daPa for both the oETD group (sensitivity = 73.7%, specificity = 90.0%) and the PET group (sensitivity = 58.6%, specificity = 90.0%). The nine-step test has moderate diagnostic performance for oETD and PET.

Original language	English
Article number	732
Journal	Diagnostics
Volume	12
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12030732
Publication status	Published - 2022 Mar

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: This study (including APC) was supported by a faculty research grant from Yonsei University College of Medicine (Grant No. 6-2020-0153) to S.H.B. and by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant No. HI21C1574) to I.S.M. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Clinical Biochemistry

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10.3390/diagnostics12030732

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title = "Revisiting the Diagnostic Performance of the Modified Nine-Step Test for Obstructive and Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction",

abstract = "The nine-step test is a classical method for evaluating Eustachian tube function. It directly assesses the patient{\textquoteright}s capacity to equilibrate middle ear pressure by swallowing. However, there are insufficient studies to appraise its diagnostic performance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off value of the nine-step test in patients with obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (oETD) and patulous Eustachian tube (PET). Enrolled subjects were divided into three groups. Control (50 ears of healthy volunteers), oETD (19 ears with oETD), and PET (29 ears with PET). Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of maximal peak pressure difference (ETTmd) in the nine-step test. Both the oETD group and the PET group showed decreased ETTmd. The nine-step test showed moderate accuracy when used to diagnose oETD (area under the curve = 0.875) and PET (area under the curve = 0.769). The highest diagnostic performance was observed when the cut-off value was 13 daPa for both the oETD group (sensitivity = 73.7%, specificity = 90.0%) and the PET group (sensitivity = 58.6%, specificity = 90.0%). The nine-step test has moderate diagnostic performance for oETD and PET.",

author = "Bae, {Seong Hoon} and Seojin Moon and Mincheol Jeong and Moon, {In Seok}",

note = "Funding Information: Funding: This study (including APC) was supported by a faculty research grant from Yonsei University College of Medicine (Grant No. 6-2020-0153) to S.H.B. and by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant No. HI21C1574) to I.S.M. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",

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Revisiting the Diagnostic Performance of the Modified Nine-Step Test for Obstructive and Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Abstract

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