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Objective: To investigate the changes in bone-conduction and air-bone gap in patients with serous otitis media and to evaluate the presence of Carhart's notch. Material and Methods: Patients with unilateral serous otitis media were included in the study. Audiometric evaluation comprised air-conduction and bone-conduction hearing thresholds, and air-bone gap values. The preoperative and postoperative pure tone audiometry results of 45 patients were compared in terms of the air-bone gap and bone-conduction thresholds. Results: Carhart's notch was present in 17 (37.8%) patients preoperatively. For pure tone audiometry, there was a statistically significant decrease in air-bone gap at all frequencies postoperatively. The postoperative decrease in the bone-conduction thresholds was statistically significant only at 2 kHz. In the postoperative period, a 4.7 dB improvement was observed in the bone-conduction threshold at 2 kHz for patients with Carhart's notch. Conclusion: Carhart's notch may be present in patients with serous otitis media. It is not specific to otosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To demonstrate the influence of ventilation tube insertion to the quality of life in a group of children in Southeast Anatolia by Otitis Media 6‐item (OM6) questionnaire. Design: Patients who underwent ventilation tube insertion due to otitis media with effusion (OME) at Otorhinolaryngology Department of Gaziantep University between December 2016 and April 2017 were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients were evaluated with the OM‐6 survey before operation and 6 weeks after surgery. Results: The mean age of 45 patients out of 50 accounted for 67.64 ± 42.89 months with 27 (60%) males and 18 (40%) females. The numbers of preoperative and postoperative overall OM6 scores represented a significant improvement with 4.34 and 2.16, respectively. Moreover, each domain of OM6 (physical suffering, hearing loss, speech impairment, emotional distress, activity limitations and caregiver concerns) showed statistically significant difference. Conclusion: Ventilation tube insertion procedure provided a significant improvement in a group of children in Southeast Anatolia suffering from chronic OME in terms of Quality of Life (QOL) assessed by OM6. We believe that OM6 is a useful tool for evaluating the patients' health‐related quality of life and for providing additional information to the caregivers' or families' enquiries regarding the consequences of surgical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: The results of the study showed that clarithromycin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and, when it is combined with prednisolone, those effects gain strength. Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the effects that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of clarithromycin and/or prednisolone have on experimental otitis media in effusion-induced guinea-pigs. Method and results: In this study, 35-male guinea pigs were randomly divided into five-groups. For the experimental otitis media, intra-tympanic histamine (0.1 ml) was injected into the guinea pigs in all of the groups except the control group. Then, 24-h after the intra-tympanic injections, clarithromycin (15 mg/kg/day) and/or prednisolone (1 mg/kg/day) were applied intraperitoneally to the guinea-pigs for 7-days. The biochemical analysis showed an increase in antioxidant capacity and a decrease in oxidant status and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the clarithromycin group and the prednisolone group and especially in the clarithromycin+prednisolone group, as compared to the experimental group (p < 0.05). In the cytokine analysis, lower levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-17A and higher IL-10 were found in the clarithromycin, prednisolone, and clarithromycin+prednisolone groups than in the experimental group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the histologic analyses showed histopathologic changes in the middle ear mucosa of the experimental group, but comparatively fewer-histopathologic changes were observed in the clarithromycin, prednisolone, and clarithromycin+prednisolone groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The goal of this study is to determine the correlation between the radiographic measurements of adenoid size and tympanometric findings. Study design: Prospective study. Setting: Haydarpasa Numune Research and Education Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Subjects and methods: Nine five consecutive children complaining of one or more of the symptoms of upper airway obstruction (UAO) (presence of snoring, mouth breathing or difficulty in breathing during sleep, obstructive breathing or apnea during sleep) were included in the study. Symptom severity was assessed by a standardized questionnaire. All patients underwent digital lateral soft tissue radiographs. Assessment of nasopharyngeal obstruction in radiographs was done according to four different methods. Tympanometry was used to evaluate the middle ear. Results: Of 190 ears, 79 were type A, 49 were type B and 62 were type C tympanograms. The symptom severity of 14 patients was graded as mild, 56 patients as moderate and 25 patients as severe. There was no statistically significant difference between UAO symptom severity groups and tympanogram types (p >0,05). Each one of the four methods of radiologic measurements of the adenoid enlargement showed no statistically significant difference between the tympanogram types (p >0,05). Conclusion: The adenoid hypertrophy in both means of radiologic measurements and symptom severity does not correlate with the changes in tympanograms. These findings do not support the hypothesis that adenoidal size plays a major role in the etiopathogenesis of middle ear effusion (MEE). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To determine the impact of environmental, epidemiologic and familial factors in the development of persistent otitis media with effusion (OME-OME treated with antibiotics and followed additional 12 weeks) in primary school children in Istanbul. Materials and methods: A total of 1800 children who were attending 4 different primary schools in Sisli and Beyoglu districts of Istanbul were screened and 1740 children who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled into this study. Questionnaires prepared in the Otorhinolaryngology Clinics of Taksim Research and Training Hospital and the forms were delivered to the parents to be filled the day before examination of each child. The forms were collected during the otoscopic examinations. Pure tone audiometry and tympanometry tests and pneumatic otoscopy were performed on the children who were diagnosed as OME by otoscopic examination. The association between the children diagnosed as OME and the answers to the questionnaires was evaluated. Results: The prevalence of persistent OME in this paper was 8.7% (152/1740). Frequency of smoking in both parents (p <0.01) and mothers alone (p <0.0001), the frequency of acute otitis media (AOM) and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in past 1 year (p <0.0001), incidence of attending day care centers and crèches (p <0.0001), allergy history (p <0.05), the number of siblings (p <0.0001) and poor educational status of the parents (p <0001) were statistically significant factors among children with OME compared to normal children. Sex factors (p >0.05), mothers smoke history during pregnancy (p >0.05), relative marriage (p >0.05), smoking history of the fathers (p >0.05) and duration of breastfeeding (p >0.05) were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Environmental, epidemiologic and familial factors in the etiology of OME are important. The parents must be informed about the risk factors and symptoms of OME and by this way, the development or delayed diagnosis of the disease that may lead to permanent hearing loss may be prevented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the prevalence and risk factors for otitis media with effusion (OME) in Trabzon, a city in northeastern Turkey, and evaluate the need for screening for OME in the normal population. In kindergartens, daycare centers, public and private schools in the rural and central areas of Trabzon, 1,077 children aged between 5 and 12 years were examined. OME prevalence was 11.14% (120/1,077). Young age, attendance at kindergarten/daycare, low economical status, the mother’s working status (housewife), history of snoring and acute otitis media, antibiotic use in the previous 3 months and active upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) were found to be the risk factors for OME. A history of hearing loss reported by the parents and teachers was found significant in the diagnosis of OME despite the low predictive value. When the parents suspected that their child had experienced hearing loss (in 36 cases), they did not refer them to a healthcare facility. To conclude, the approach to OME in developing countries should be more interventional as healthcare coverage is usually low and behavioral factors such as the demand for healthcare is poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the outcomes of two different regimens—azithromycin and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (PHCl)—for the treatment of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children. In a double-blind randomized clinical study, a total of 90 children aged between 2 and 13 years with persistent OME were randomly assigned to one of 3 treatment groups. The first group received azithromycin at a dose of 10 mg kg once daily for 3 days and this regimen was repeated weekly for up to 12 weeks according to the results of tympanometry and pneumatic otoscopy. The second group received azithromycin at a dose of 10 mg kg once daily for 3 days for the first week, and this regimen was repeated for 1 day a week for the following 11 weeks. The third group received PHCl, 4 mg kg, 3 times daily for up to 12 weeks. Each patient underwent pneumatic otoscopic and tympanometric investigations at baseline and at Weeks 4, 8 and 12. The outcomes in the azithromycin-treated groups were superior to that in the decongestant group. However, the difference between the outcomes in the azithromycin groups according to the treatment protocol was not statistically significant. Azithromycin therapy, particularly a once-weekly regimen, helps patients to comply with treatment and also helps us to achieve good results with minimal therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the frequency of and the risk factors for hearing loss among school-age children by comparing the results of hearing screening in children from Syrian refugee and native Turkish population. The results of the official hearing test, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey for schoolchildren in the first grade in the 2017–2018 academic year in the Province of Şanlıurfa, were analyzed. A total of 23,664 children were screened; 20,603 (87.1%) were Turkish native, and 3,061 (12.9%) were Syrian refugees. The age range was between 69 and 84 months. The screening results indicated in Turkish children, sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in 0.26%, otitis media with effusion (OME) in 0.41%, and chronic otitis media (COM) in 0.08%. In the refugee children, the frequency of SNHL was 1.11%, OME was 0.94%, and COM was 0.62%. The rate of COM and SNHL was significantly higher in the refugee children (p < 0.001). Moreover, among those with hearing loss, the frequency of low birth weight, inflammatory diseases, and the family history of consanguineous marriage was significantly higher in refugee children compared to those in Turkish native population (p = 0.018, p = 0.003, and p = 0.022, respectively). Hearing loss is a major preventable and treatable cause of developmental disorder in childhood. When untreated, hearing loss may delay speaking and prevent socio-emotional development, leading to longterm negative consequences. We believe that programs for hearing screening in schoolchildren should be expanded and that immigrants who carry several risk factors for developmental hearing loss should be included in these programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]