Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Children With Chronic or Recurrent Otitis Media

June 6, 2026 updated by: Sarah Vidal

The Role of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) in Children With Recurrent or Chronic Otitis Media Prior to Tympanostomy Tube Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether osteopathic manipulative treatment, or OMT, can reduce the need for tympanostomy tube surgery in children with recurrent or chronic otitis media who have been referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon and are being considered for tympanostomy tube placement.

The main question it aims to answer is:

Can a standardized OMT protocol, given once weekly for 4 weeks before the final surgical decision, reduce the rate of tympanostomy tube surgery in pediatric patients with recurrent or chronic otitis media?

Researchers will compare children who receive the standardized OMT protocol with children who receive a placebo/control manual treatment protocol to see whether OMT leads to a clinically meaningful reduction in the need for surgery.

Participants will:

  • Attend 4 weekly study visits before their final ENT surgical decision.
  • Receive one of several assigned combinations of standardized OMT intervention procedures and control manual procedures. Each participant's assigned treatment sequence is determined by randomization.
  • Complete study-related assessments and questionnaires related to ear symptoms and quality of life.
  • Continue their planned ENT care, including follow-up evaluation with the ENT surgeon to determine whether tympanostomy tube surgery is still recommended.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Virginia
      • Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, 24501
        • Blue Ridge Ear, Nose and Throat
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Jay Cline, M.D.
      • Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, 24502
        • Collaborative Healthplex
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Mark D Unger, DO, MS
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Joy Palmer, DO
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Kirsten Madea, DO

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 6 months to less than 7 years. (All participants)
  • Referred to an otolaryngologist (ENT) for evaluation of chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) or recurrent acute otitis media (AOM). (All participants)
  • Planned for tympanostomy tube placement (unilateral or bilateral) pending surgical decision. (All participants)
  • At least 5 weeks between enrollment and anticipated surgical decision point. (All participants)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Congenital or developmental conditions associated with increased otitis media risk, including but not limited to Down syndrome, cleft palate, or other craniofacial abnormalities. (All participants)
  • History of prior tympanostomy tube placement or current tympanostomy tubes in place. (All participants)
  • History of tympanic membrane perforation. (All participants)
  • Presence of preauricular pits. (All participants)
  • Patients requiring urgent or expedited surgical intervention, as determined by the treating ENT physician. (All participants)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Distal Region OMT Only
Participants assigned to this group receive a double dose of the control osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) protocol.
Other: Control Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Control Intervention is a protocol of genuine OMT applied to the Sacrum, Pelvis and Lower Extremity body regions plus standard of care. This Control Intervention is conceptualized as inert in the study population.
Other: Intermediate Group: Distal Region OMT then Targeted OMT
Participants assigned to this group receive a combination of the control OMT protocol followed by the experimental OMT protocol.
Other: Control Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Control Intervention is a protocol of genuine OMT applied to the Sacrum, Pelvis and Lower Extremity body regions plus standard of care. This Control Intervention is conceptualized as inert in the study population.
Other: Experimental Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Experimental Intervention is a standardized OMT protocol targeting the head, neck, thoracic, and lymphatic regions, selected to address anatomic and physiologic factors implicated in eustachian tube function, middle ear ventilation, and lymphatic drainage. The protocol consists of widely taught, non-invasive osteopathic techniques delivered in a fixed sequence and duration.
Other Names:
  • True Intervention
Other: Intermediate Group: Targeted OMT then Distal Region OMT
Participants assigned to this group receive a combination of the experimental OMT protocol followed by the control OMT protocol.
Other: Control Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Control Intervention is a protocol of genuine OMT applied to the Sacrum, Pelvis and Lower Extremity body regions plus standard of care. This Control Intervention is conceptualized as inert in the study population.
Other: Experimental Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Experimental Intervention is a standardized OMT protocol targeting the head, neck, thoracic, and lymphatic regions, selected to address anatomic and physiologic factors implicated in eustachian tube function, middle ear ventilation, and lymphatic drainage. The protocol consists of widely taught, non-invasive osteopathic techniques delivered in a fixed sequence and duration.
Other Names:
  • True Intervention
Experimental: Targeted OMT Only
Participants assigned to this group receive a double dose of the experimental OMT protocol.
Other: Experimental Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol
The Experimental Intervention is a standardized OMT protocol targeting the head, neck, thoracic, and lymphatic regions, selected to address anatomic and physiologic factors implicated in eustachian tube function, middle ear ventilation, and lymphatic drainage. The protocol consists of widely taught, non-invasive osteopathic techniques delivered in a fixed sequence and duration.
Other Names:
  • True Intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Final Surgical Decision
Time Frame: At the time of the participant's pre-operative ENT visit, following all four study visits.
Following the final intervention for any given participant, the ENT physician, in conjunction with the parent/guardian, will determine whether to proceed with tympanostomy tube placement, defer, or cancel based on clinical status. This decision constitutes the primary outcome of the study.
At the time of the participant's pre-operative ENT visit, following all four study visits.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tympanometry Data
Time Frame: Performed at the inital ENT consultation as standard of care, and again at the time of the pre-operative ENT visit.
Objective measurement of fluid and/or pressure behind the tympanic membrane. Results reported as "Type A", "B", or "C".
Performed at the inital ENT consultation as standard of care, and again at the time of the pre-operative ENT visit.
Audiometry Data
Time Frame: Performed at the inital ENT consultation as standard of care, and again at the time of the pre-operative ENT visit.
An objective measurement of hearing ability in decibels, with the ability to distinguish between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Typically done in conjunction with tympanometry.
Performed at the inital ENT consultation as standard of care, and again at the time of the pre-operative ENT visit.
Otitis Media Quality of Life Survey (OM-6)
Time Frame: This survey will be administered at Week 1, Week 3 (study midpoint) and within one week of the participant's pre-operative ENT appointment.
A parent-proxy survey used for infants and young children. It tracks six core domains: physical suffering, hearing loss, speech impairment, emotional distress, activity limitations, and caregiver concerns. The six items on OM-6 questionnaire are graded by caregiver on a seven-point scale where 1 indicates no problem and 7 indicates extreme problem. The individual scores are summed up and divided by 6 to get an overall mean score. Higher scores indicate worse outcome and lower scores indicate better outcome.
This survey will be administered at Week 1, Week 3 (study midpoint) and within one week of the participant's pre-operative ENT appointment.
Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)
Time Frame: This survey will be administered at Week 1, Week 3 (study midpoint) and within one week of the participant's pre-operative ENT appointment.
The PedsQL Inventory is designed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in healthy children and those with acute or chronic health conditions. It is divided into specific age brackets to ensure developmentally appropriate questions. For participants 6 months to 2 years old, the PedsQL Infant Scales will be used. For participants 3 to 6 years old, the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales - Parent Proxy Report will be used. Parents/caregivers must complete these as proxy-reports. The PedsQL uses a standard 5-point Likert scale (0 = Never a problem; 1 = Almost never a problem; 2 = Sometimes a problem; 3 = Often a problem; 4 = Almost always a problem). Answers are reverse-scored and transformed to a 0-100 scale (0 = 100, 1 = 75, 2 = 50, 3 = 25, 4 = 0) and the mean is taken. Higher scores indicate a better outcome.
This survey will be administered at Week 1, Week 3 (study midpoint) and within one week of the participant's pre-operative ENT appointment.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Sarah Vidal

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
KR Love Quantitative Consulting and Collaboration

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-FY25-26-44

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Only designated research personnel will have access to identifiable participant data. For the purposes of data analysis, the information will be de-identified.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Otitis Media

Clinical Trials on Control Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Protocol

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings