Allergic diseases in children with otitis media with effusion

Objectives: Recent studies have shown that allergic diseases may be associated with the pathogenesis of recurrent otitis media with effusion (OME). We aimed to assess the relationship between OME and allergic diseases and other types of disease in children with OME. We also evaluated the between group differences in the characteristics of middle ear effusion. Materials and methods: We evaluated 370 patients diagnosed with OME between January 2007 and December 2012 and, as a control group, 100 children with no medical history of OME but who had undergone blood tests and MAST-CLA (multiple allergosorbent test - chemiluminescent assay) were selected. Result: Among the allergic diseases, the incidence of allergic rhinitis alone was significantly higher in children with OME (33.8%) than without OME (16.0%) (p<0.05). The rate of adenoid, but not tonsil, hypertrophy was significantly greater in patients with than without OME also (p<0.05). When we evaluated the characteristics of middle ear effusion (MEE) in patients with OME, we found that 186 had serous, 129 had mucous and 55 had purulent MEE. Of these patients, 75 (40.3%), 36 (27.9%) and 14 (25.5%), respectively, had allergic rhinitis and the rates of allergic rhinitis and asthma were significantly higher in the serous group than in the mucous group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis was significantly more frequent among pediatric patients with than without OME, although the rates of other allergic diseases did not differ in these two groups. The likelihoods of allergic rhinitis and asthma were higher in patients with serous than with mucous MEE.