Role of Oxidative Stress in Serous Otitis Media and Myringosclerosis

Ventilation tube insertion (VTI) is the surgical treatment of serous otitis media (SOM). Myringosclerosis (MS) commonly appears after ventilation tube insertion (VTI). The exact etiology of both MS and SOM remains unclear. The role of oxidative stress (OS) markers—total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), paraoxonase (PON1), arylesterase (ARES), and zinc (Zn) levels—in the advancement of SOM and MS in patients following VTI was examined. The study comprised 100 children aged six to thirteen, categorized into MS + SOM (n = 34), MS-SOM (n = 34), and control (n = 32) groups. Serum levels of TAS, TOS, OSI, PON1, ARES, and Zn were evaluated. ANOVA, independent t-test, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis were used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). For SOM, the means of TOS and OSI were greater than those of the control group, whereas ARES and Zn were found to be lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05). ANOVA results for MS revealed that TOS (p = 0.026), OSI (p = 0.009), PON1 (p = 0.047), ARES (p = 0.00), and Zn (p = 0.00) levels differed among the groups. In ROC analysis, TOS (AUC = 0.697, p = 0.0002), OSI (AUC = 0.701, p = 0.0002), ARES (AUC = 0.777, p = 0.0001), and Zn (AUC = 0.817, p = 0.0001) are predictive for SOM. No predictive parameters of OS for MS were identified (p > 0.05). Serum TOS, OSI, ARES, and Zn can serve as diagnostic indicators in SOM. None of the serum OS markers is predictive of MS. More research is needed to support these conclusions.