Objectives: To determine the prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) and compare patterns of tympanogram between children with and without allergic rhinitis in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Study design: A case-control study of children (2-7 years) with AR from May 2015 to March 2016.
Setting: Tertiary hospital.
Subjects and methods: Consecutive 86 children with AR and 86 healthy controls (nonallergic) participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was administered to parents or caregivers of the participants to obtain relevant sociodemographic and clinical information. Diagnosis of AR was by symptomatology and nasal cytology. Both groups had ear, nose, and throat examination and tympanometric evaluation. OME was diagnosed according to Jerger's tympanometric patterns.
Results: The mean ± SD ages of cases and controls were 3.80 ± 1.72 and 3.78 ± 1.71 years, respectively. All cases presented with watery nasal discharge, bouts of sneezing, and nasal itching. The duration of AR symptoms was 18 ± 13 months. Among cases and controls, Jerger's type A tympanogram was the most common pattern, while type C was the least common. Thirty-nine (45.3%) children with AR had OME, as compared with 8 (9.3%) controls, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .001; odds ratio = 8.090; 95% CI = 3.48-18.79).
Conclusion: Prevalence of OME was significantly high among children with AR. Jerger's type B and C tympanograms were more common among children with AR than the healthy pediatric population. This background information supports the need for routine tympanometric evaluation of children with AR.
Keywords: allergic rhinitis; children; nasal cytology; otitis media with effusion; tympanometry.