A study of the role of different forms of chronic rhinitis in the development of otitis media with effusion in children affected by adenoid hypertrophy

• Published in: International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology 2013-12, Vol.77 (12), p.1980-1983
• Main Authors: Quaranta, Nicola, Milella, Claudia, Iannuzzi, Lucia, Gelardi, Matteo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenoid hypertrophy; Adenoids - pathology; Adolescent; Age Distribution; Allergy; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Hypertrophy - epidemiology; Hypertrophy - pathology; Male; Nasal cytology; Nasopharyngeal Diseases - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Diseases - epidemiology; Otitis media with effusion; Otitis Media with Effusion - diagnosis; Otitis Media with Effusion - epidemiology; Otolaryngology; Pediatrics; Prevalence; Prognosis; Rhinitis; Rhinitis - diagnosis; Rhinitis - epidemiology; Rhinitis, Allergic; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - diagnosis; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - epidemiology; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Distribution
• ISSN: 0165-5876; 1872-8464
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.09.017

Abstract Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the different forms of chronic rhinitis in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion in children affected by obstructive adenoid hypertrophy. Methods 81 patients, aged between 4 and 15 years (mean age of 6.9 years), affected by obstructive adenoid hypertrophy were evaluated. All patients underwent accurate history taking, physical examination with endoscopy of the nasopharynx, skin prick test, nasal cytology and hearing evaluation. Results Nasal citology showed that 21% of patients had a non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) subtype, 17.4% NAR overlapping with infectious rhinitis (IR), 29.6% IR, 4.9% allergic rhinitis (AR), 2.5% AR overlapping with IR and the remaining 24.6% a negative cytology. The presence of OME was positively correlated with neutrophils ( p = 0.01) and mast cells ( p = 0.022), while it was negatively correlated with the presence of eosinophils ( p = 0.02) and bacteria ( p = 0.02). Conclusions A chronic rhinitis was present in more than 70% of children with AH and 60% of them showed OME. Nasal cytology together with SPT showed that AR was rarely present in this group of children, while the mast-cells and neutrophils positively correlated with OME.