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Correlates of various presentation modes of acute otitis media in saudi children
1Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
This study identifies factors associated with Acute Otitis Media (AOM) presentation in young children. Illiteracy of fathers and bottle feeding are linked to poorer outcomes like otorrhea.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Otolaryngology
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute Otitis Media (AOM) is a common childhood illness.
- Understanding presentation modes and predictors of poor outcomes is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe correlates of various modes of presentation in children under 5 with AOM.
- To identify surrogates of poor outcomes in pediatric AOM cases.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey involving 140 children under 5 with new AOM episodes.
- Data collected from 11 primary health centers in Riyadh over 3 months.
- Diagnosis by family physicians using otoscopy; poor outcome defined as otorrhea.
Main Results:
- Fever, upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), and earache were common presentations.
- URTI, irritability, and sleeplessness correlated with red, dull tympanic membranes.
- Thumb sucking showed a protective effect against bulging tympanic membranes.
- Illiterate fathers and bottle feeding were associated with increased risk of otorrhea.
Conclusions:
- URTI, irritability, and sleeplessness are clinical indicators of AOM with specific tympanic membrane findings.
- Thumb sucking may be protective against AOM complications.
- Socioeconomic factors (father's literacy) and feeding practices (bottle feeding) are significant risk factors for otorrhea in pediatric AOM.
Purpose:
To describe correlates of various modes of presentation and identify some surrogates of poor outcome of children less than 5 years with Acute Otitis Media (AOM).
Patients And Methods:
This is a cross-sectional survey conducted at 11 primary health care centers in Riyadh city over 3 month period. A total of 140 children, each less than 5 years of age and presenting with a new episode of AOM were enrolled. Twenty-eight family physicians participated in the study. Each physician made the diagnosis of AOM based on history and clinical examination of the tympanic membranes (TM) using an otosocope. Poor outcome was defined as children presenting with otorrhea.
Results:
The majority of children presented with fever (62%), URTI (58%) and earache (54%). Presence of URTI, irritability, or sleeplessness were positively associated with redness and dullness of TM (p<0.05). Thumb sucking reduced the risk of bulging (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.07-0.94). Children of illiterate fathers were more likely to present with otorrhea (X(2) = 4.66, p< 0.05). Bottle feeding increased the risk of otorrhea by two fold (OR = 2.26, 95% CI:1.01-5.05).
Conclusion:
Children with AOM presenting as URTI, irritability or sleeplessness will showed redness and dullness of the TM as clinical signs of the disease. Thumb sucking was found to be protective from bulging of the TM. Having an illiterate father and being bottle fed were found to be surrogates of otorrhea .
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