Audax® |
Lyndon et al,2 |
RCT | 1. Audax® (n = 19) | Degree of impaction: none, mild, moderate, or severe | Not statistically significant (no P-value reported) |
Age, mean (range) years: 52 (19–86) overall | | | |
Sex, M:F for all patients: 19:17 | 2. Earex® (n = 17) | Ease of syringing: not required, easy, difficult, or impossible | Statistically significant in favour of Audax® (P<0.005) |
Follow-up: 5 days | | | |
|
Cerumol® |
|
Fahmy and Whitefield,3 |
CCT | 1. Cerumol® (ears = 157) | Wax dispersal without syringing | Statistically significant in favour of Exterol® (P<0.001) |
Age: not reported | | | |
Sex: not reported | 2. Exterol® (ears = 129) | | |
Follow-up: 1 week | | | |
Jaffé and Grimshaw,4 |
RCT | 1. Cerumol® (n = 53) | Number of people needing syringing | Statistically significant in favour of Otocerol® (P = 0.05) |
Baseline characteristics: | | | |
Age distribution (Group 1:Group 2): | 2. Otocerol® (n = 53) | | |
0–9 years: 0:1 | | | |
10–19 years: 5:1 | | | |
20–59 years: 31:35 | | | |
60–89 years: 17:16 | | | |
Sex, M:F: | | | |
1. 32:21 | | | |
2. 25:28 | | | |
Follow-up: patients asked to revisit GP after three instillations | | | |
General Practitioner Research Group,5 |
RCT | 1. Waxsol® (n = 47) | Volume of water for syringing | Not reported |
Age groups, % of all patients: | | | |
10–30 years, 27 | 2. Cerumol® (n = 60) | Ease of wax removal | Not reported |
31–50 years, 34 | | | |
51–70 years, 31 | | | |
71 years and over, 8 | | | |
Sex: not reported | | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
Dummer et al,6 |
RCT | 1. Audax® (n = 27) | Amount, colour, and consistency of wax | Not reported |
Age, mean years: | | | |
1. 51 | 2. Cerumol® (n = 23) | | |
2. 55 | | | |
Sex, M:F: | | | |
1. 18:9 | | | |
2. 14:9 | | | |
Follow-up: median number of days between visits 1 and 2 was 4 days (range 3–7 days) | | | |
|
Triethanolamine polypeptide |
|
Singer et al,7 |
RCT | 1. DS (n = 27) | TM visualisation: complete or incomplete | Not statistically significant |
Age, mean years (SD): | | | |
1. 38.7 (30.7) | 2. TP (n = 23) | | |
2. 46.1 (29.1) | | | |
Sex, M:F (%): | | | |
1. 16 (59):11 (41) | | | |
2. 16 (70):7 (30) | | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
Meehan et al,8 |
RCT | 1. DS (n = 15) | TM visualisation: complete, partial, clear | Not reported |
Age, mean years: 4.6 overall | | | |
Sex, M:F overall: 24:24 | 2. TP (n = 17) | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
| Also saline alone group (n = 16) | | |
Whatley et al,9 |
RCT | 1. DS (n = 35) | TM visualisation: complete | Not reported |
Age, mean (SD): | | | |
1. 36.4 (19.1) monthsa | 2. TP (n = 30) | | |
2. 30.9 (15.2) months | | | |
Sex, M:F (%): | Also saline alone group (n = 28) | | |
1. 14:20 (41:59) | | | |
2. 13:17 (43:57) | | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
Amjad and Scheer,10 |
RCT | 1. TP (n = 40) | Degrees of wax removal | Not reported |
Age: not reported | | | |
Sex: not reported | 2. Carbamide peroxide (n = 40) | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
|
Sodium bicarbonate preparations |
|
Carr and Smith,11 |
RCT | 1. Aqueous sodium bicarbonate (n = 35) | Mean change in degree of cerumen | Not statistically significant (no P-value reported) |
Age, mean years for all: | | | |
27.0 | | | |
25.3 | 2. Aqueous acetic acid (n = 34) | | |
Age, mean years for children: | | | |
1. 8.7 | | | |
2. 7.26 | | | |
Sex: not reported | | | |
Follow-up: 14 days | | | |
|
Dioctyl-medo |
|
General Practitioner Research Group,12 |
RCT | 1. Dioctyl-medo (n = 77) | Volume of water for syringing | Not reported |
Age range, overall, years | | | |
M: 31–50 | 2. Oil-base alone (n = 73) | Ease of wax removal | |
F: 51–70 | | | |
Sex, all patients, M:F 1.3:1 | | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |
Burgess,13 |
CCT | 1. Dioctyl-medo (n = 33 ears) | Ease of removing wax | Not reported |
Age range, years: 18–75 overall | | | |
Sex, M:F for all patients: 32:18 | 2. Maize oil capsules (n = 41 ears) | | |
Follow-up: 2–7 days | | | |
|
Water |
|
Eekhof et al,14 |
RCT | | | |
Age, mean years (SD): 51 (16) overall | 1. Water (n = 22) | Mean number of syringing attempts | Not statistically significant (P = 0.18) |
Sex, M:F overall: 20:22 | | | |
Follow-up: immediate for water group but 3 days for oil group | 2. Self-administered oil (n = 20) | | |
Pavlidis and Pickering,15 |
RCT | 1. Wet syringing (n = 22 ears) | Mean number of syringing attempts | Not tested |
Age, mean years (SD): | | | |
1. 63 (8) | 2. Dry syringing (n = 17 ears) | | |
2. 65 (20) | | | |
Sex, M:F (%): | | | |
1. 15 (68):7 (32) | | | |
2. 11 (65):6 (35) | | | |
Follow-up: immediate | | | |