Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T19:08:16.239Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Changes in the clinical presentation of chronic otitis media from the 1970s to the 1990s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Eero Vartiainen*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Kuopio University Hospital, FIN-70210 Kuopio, Finland
*
Address for correspondence: Eero Vartiainen, M.D., Department of Otolaryngology, Kuopio University HospitalFIN-70210 Kuopio, Finland. Fax: +358-17-172509

Abstract

Clinical features of 1123 patients with chronic otitis media referred to a Finnish university hospital for surgical treatment over a 20-year period were analyzed. The number of patients declined by 48 per cent from the period 1976–1985 to 1986–1995. The decline was evident in all age groups but the proportion of children increased significantly from 14 per cent in 1976–1985 to 20 per cent in 1986–1995. A male predominance was noted with the exception of patients with sequelae of otitis in whom the sex distribution was equal. In cholesteatomatous ears, no significant change occurred in the type or size of cholesteatomas or in the incidence of ossicular destruction. Likewise, no significant change was noted in the size of perforations or in the incidence of ossicular destruction in patients with dry eardrum perforations. However, hearing levels of patients treated 1976–1985 were significantly worse than those of patients 1986–1995. Severe complications caused by the disease were rare during both periods.

Type
Main Articles
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alho, O.-P., Koivu, M.Hartikainen-Sorri, A.-L., Sorri, M., Kilkku, O., Rantakallio, P. (1990) Is a child's history of acute otitis media and respiratory infection already determined in the antenatal and perinatal period? International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 19: 129137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Browning, G. G., Gatehouse, S (1992) The prevalence of middle ear disease in the adult British population. Clinical Otolaryngology 17: 317321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edelstein, D. R., Parisier, S. C., Ahuja, G. S., Juarbe, C., Chute, P., Wenig, S., Kaye, S. M. (1988) Cholesteatoma in the pediatric age group. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology 97: 2329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Merchant, S. N., Wang, P., Jang, C.-H., Glynn, R. J., Rauch, S. D., McKenna, M. J., Nadol, J. B. (1997) Efficacy of tympanomastoid surgery for control of infection in active chronic otitis media. Laryngoscope 107: 872877.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Puhakka, H. J. (1991) Akut otit – ett problem för barnet, familjen och sjukvården. Nordisk Medicin 106: 293296.Google Scholar
Stenström, C., Ingvarsson, L. (1997) Otitis-prone children and controls: a study of possible predisposing factors. 1. Heredity, family background and perinatal period. Acta Otolaryngologica (Stockh) 117: 8793.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wetmore, R. F., Konkle, D. F., Potsic, W. P., Handler, S. D. (1987) Cholesteatoma in the pediatric patient. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 14: 101112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed