Otitis media with effusion in Nigerian children with cleft palate: incidence and risk factors

Otitis media with effusion is common in children with cleft palate, and the aim of this study was to find out its incidence and risk factors in Nigerians. We prospectively studied 84 patients (42 with cleft palate and 42 control subjects); 27 were male and 15 female, who were age and sex matched with control subjects. The extent and size of the clefts were measured using a dental cast and Vernier calipers, and the otitis media was diagnosed with otoscopy and tympanometry. The mean (SD) age of the groups was 11 (7) months (range 1-33). Twelve children in the cleft group had otitis media compared with three in the control group. Infants and boys were more likely to be affected. There was a significant association between age (p=0.02), sex (p=0.01), and size of cleft (p=0.00). However, only the size of the cleft was confirmed to be an independent predictor, with children who had extremely wide clefts being more likely to develop otitis media than those with narrow clefts (OR=8.71, 95%CI=1.07 to 70.5).We conclude that the incidence of otitis media with effusion was higher among children with cleft palate than among those who did not have a cleft. Infants had a higher incidence than older children, and boys had a higher incidence than girls. Age, sex, and the size of the palatal cleft were significantly associated with otitis media, but not the extent of clefting.