Mastoid cavity obliteration using bone pate versus bioactive glass granules in the management of chronic otitis media (squamous disease): a prospective comparative study

Objective To compare the efficacy of bone pate versus bioactive glass in mastoid obliteration. Method This randomised parallel groups study was conducted at a tertiary care centre between September 2017 and August 2019. Sixty-eight patients, 33 males and 35 females, aged 12-56 years, randomly underwent single-stage canal wall down mastoidectomy with mastoid obliteration using either bone pate (n = 35) or bioactive glass (n = 33), and were evaluated 12 months after the operation. Results A dry epithelised cavity (Merchant's grade 0 or 1) was achieved in 65 patients (95.59 per cent). Three patients (4.41 per cent) showed recidivism. The mean air-bone gap decreased to 16.80 4.23 dB from 35.10 +/- 5.21 dB pre-operatively. The mean Glasgow Benefit Inventory score was 30.02 +/- 8.23. There was no significant difference between the two groups in these outcomes. However, the duration of surgery was shorter in the bioactive glass group (156.87 +/- 7.83 vs 162.28 +/- 8.74 minutes; p = 0.01). Conclusion The efficacy of both materials was comparable.