Assessment of Infants and Children with Symptoms Suggesting Otitis Media

Mona Ramadan Nasr^1*, Mohamed Esayd², Mona Abdelaal³

¹Pediatric Department, Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
²Otorhinolaryngology Department, Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
³Bacteriology Laboratory, Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.

DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1100693                

Abstract

Symptoms suggesting occurrence of otitis media (OM) in infants and young children are not always right. Objective: Assessment of those infants and children with symptoms suggesting otitis media. Patients & Methods: 113 infants and children were complaining of ear symptoms suggesting otitis media as well as 63 infants and children of same age and sex were not complaining of any of these symptoms suggesting otitis media, were fully investigated prospectively, by full clinical and ear, nose examination as well as swab culture from the ear discharge. Results: There was no statistical significant difference between the prevalence of otitis related symptoms and the risk factors in both groups. There was no correlation found between the otoscopic diagnosis of OM and the main complaint suggesting OM in the patients, mainly ear pain and ear discharge. There was a positive significant correlation between otoscopic diagnosis of OM and fever, diarrhea, and bronchiolitis (significance was at 0.01, 0.01 and 0.05 levels respectively). Conclusion: Otoscopic examination is very important in any infant or child complaining of ear pain, ear discharge or complaining of otitis related symptoms.

Keywords

Symptoms, Otitis Media, Infants, Children

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Kershner, J.E. (2011) Otitis Media. 19th Edition, Chapter 632 in Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia.
[2]	Chonmaitree, T., Revai, K., Grady, J.J., Clos, A., Patel, J.A., et al. (2008) Viral Upper Respiratory Tract Infection and Otitis Media Complication in Young Children. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 46, 815-823.
[3]	Kong, K. and Coates, H.L.C. (2009) Natural History, Definitions, Risk Factors and Burden of Otitis Media. The Medical Journal of Australia, 191, 39.
[4]	Laine, M.K., Tahtinen, P.A., Ruuskanen, O., Huovinen, P. and RuohoIa, A. (2010) Symptoms or Symptom-Based Scores Cannot Predict Acute Otitis Media at Otitis-Prone Age. Pediatrics, 125, e1154-e1161.
[5]	Teele, D.W., Klein, J.O. and Rosner, B. (1989) Epidemiology of Otitis Media during the First Seven Years of Life in Children in Greater Boston: A Prospective, Cohort Study. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 160, 83-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/160.1.83
[6]	Doyle, W.J. (1977) A Functional-Anatomic Description of Eustachian Tube Vector Relations in Four Ethnic Populations: An Osteologic Study. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.
[7]	Kvaerner, K.J., Harris, J.R., Tambs, K., et al. (1997) Distribution and Heritability of Recurrent Ear Infections. Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, 106, 624-632.
[8]	Kalm, O., Johnson, U., Preliner, K. and Ninn, K. (1991) HLA Frequency in Patients with Recurrent Acute Otitis Media. Archives of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, 117, 1296-1299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archotol.1991.01870230112019
[9]	Smith, L., Ewings, P., Smith, C., Thompson, M., Harnden, A. and Mant, D. (2010) Ear Discharge in Children Presenting with Acute Otitis Media: Observational Study from UK General Practice. British Journal of General Practice, 60, 101-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.3399/bjgp10X483148
[10]	Shaikh, N., Kearney, D.H., Colborn, D.K., Balentine, T., Feng, W., Lin, Y. and Hoberman, A. (2010) How Do Parents of Preverbal Children with Acute Otitis Media Determine How Much Ear Pain Their Child Is Having? Journal of Pain, 11, 1291-1294. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2010.03.017
[11]	Kiris, M., Muderris, T., Kara, T., Bercin, S., Cankaya, H. and Sevil, E. (2012) Prevalence and Risk Factors of Otitis Media with Effusion in School Children in Eastern Anatolia. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 76, 1030-1035. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.03.027
[12]	Pettigrew, M.M., Laufer, A.S., Gent, J.F., Kong, Y., Fennie, K.P. and Metlay, J.P. (2012) Upper Respiratory Tract Microbial Communities, Acute Otitis Media Pathogens, and Antibiotic Use in Healthy and Sick Children. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78, 6262-6270. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01051-12
[13]	Kristjánsson, S., Skúladóttir, H.E., Sturludóttir, M. and Wennergren, G. (2010) Increased Prevalence of Otitis Media Following Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection. Acta Paediatrica, 99, 867-870. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2009.01637.x
[14]	Pirogowicz, I., Bujnowska-Fedak, M., Piorek, M. and Steciwko, A. (2004) Effect of Passive Cigarette Smoking on the Frequency of Respiratory Tract Infections, Allergy and Bronchial Asthma in Children. Przeglad Lekarski Journal, 61, 1061-1064.
[15]	Bradley, J.P., Bacharier, L.B., Bonfiglio, J., et al. (2005) Severity of Respiratorysyncytial Virus Bronchiolitis Is Affected by Cigarette Smoke Exposure and Atopy. Pediatrics, 115, e7-e14.