Otitis media with effusion and atopy: is there a causal relationship?

Abstract

Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) is an inflammatory condition of the middle ear cleft, acute or chronic, with collection of fluid in the middle ear with an intact tympanic membrane. It is a very common disease in childhood, the most frequent cause of hearing loss in childhood and often requiring surgery. OME is called chronic when the fluid in the middle ear persists for more than three months or when the episodes recur six or more times in one year. The current article covers various aspects of OME including definition, epidemiology. Pathomechanisms, risk factors, role of allergy in OME, impact of upper airway disease on OME, eosinophilic otitis media and management of OME. Keywords: OME, Risk factors, Infancy, Inflammation, eosinophilic otititis media, Allergy, Rhinosinusitis