Allergic Rhinitis in Patients with Otitis Media with Effusion (OME)

Abstract

Background: Otitis Media with effusion is a common cause of conductive hearing loss in children in school age and its pathogenesis is still under debate. In some studies a roll for allergic rhinitis has been suggested. Methods: In this study we investigated two groups (52 patients with otitis media with effusin and 52 healthy persons) for allergic rhinitis based on history, physical examination and nasal discharge smear.In this study, If 20% of PMN cells of nasal smear were eosinophil, that sample was positive for allergic rhinitis. Finding: Allergic was found in 6 persons of study group and only one person of control group. This difference was significant (P < 0.05 in chi square test and P = 0.028 in fisher test). Conclusion: Our study suggests that allergic rhinitis may play a role in a subset of patients with otitis media with effusin.

Keywords

• Otitis media with effusion
• Allergic rhinitis