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  3. Every year more than half a million American kids have drainage tubes surgically implanted in their ears to combat persistent in

Every year more than half a million American kids have drainage tubes surgically implanted in their ears to combat persistent in

admin2010-03-25  33
问题    Every year more than half a million American kids have drainage tubes surgically implanted in their ears to combat persistent infections. The procedure, known as tympanostomy, may not be as common as the tonsillectomy was in the 1940s, but it now ranks as the nation’s leading childhood operation and a new study suggests it’s being vastly overused. In reviewing more than 6,000 scheduled ear tube operations, a team of experts led by Harvard pediatrician Lawrence Kleinman found that fewer than half were clearly justified. "Each year," the researchers write in the current Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), "several hundred thousand children in the United States may be receiving tympanostomy tubes that offer them no demonstrated advantage ... and may place them at increased risk."
   Tube placement isn’t a terribly risky procedure, but it costs $1,000 to $1,500 and sometimes scars the eardrum, causing a partial loss of hearing. Studies show that the benefits are most likely to outweigh the risks if a child’s middle ear has produced sticky fluid for more than four months despite treatment with antibiotics. For less virulent infections, drug treatment is usually a cheaper, safer alternative (though drugs, too, can be overused). In the new JAMA study, Kleinman’s team reviewed the medical charts of 6,429 kids, all under 16, whose doctors had recommended the procedure. Even making "generous assumptions" about the likely benefits, the researchers found that a quarter of the proposed operations were inappropriate, since less invasive alternatives were available, while another third were as likely to harm the recipients as help them.
   Parents needn’t panic about ear tubes that are already in place. Once successfully implanted, the tiny devices provide drainage for six months to a year, then come out by reducing health costs by hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Tympanostomy tubes are meant to ______.
选项 A、dissolve slowly.
B、replace medicines.
C、alleviate eardrum pressure.
D、reduce earaches.
答案D
解析 进行tympanostomy手术的目的在第一段中：“American kids have drainage tubes surgically implanted in their ears to combat persistent infections"，最后一段中有“Once successfully implanted，the tiny devices provide drainage for six months to a year．．．”综上所述，该手术是为了给那些耳朵发炎的人植入导管，以便于排脓，这样可省下持续的医疗费用。从四个选项中，可以发现D最为接近，因为通常耳朵发炎会引起疼痛。
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