Using an epidemiological model to investigate unwarranted variation: the case of ventilation tubes for otitis media with effusion in England.

The article presents a study which investigated unwarranted variation in ventilation tube insertions for otitis media with effusion in children in England. Topics include derivation of estimates using Monte Carlo simulation, expected number of children that would be expected to benefit from ventilation tubes for otitis media with effusion yearly, and the observed number of ventilation tubes for otitis media with effusion-associated diagnoses.