Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct;3(4):598-601.
doi: 10.4103/2141-9248.122126.

A survey of the burden of management of chronic suppurative otitis media in a developing country

Ft Orji  1
Affiliations

A survey of the burden of management of chronic suppurative otitis media in a developing country

Ft Orji. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Although the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is much higher in developing counties, most surgical treatment techniques are not easily accessible in many poor resource countries.

Aim: The survey aims to examine the extent to which health care facilities in Nigeria are equipped to address the management challenges of CSOM.

Subjects and methods: Online questionnaires were sent and received from otolaryngologists practicing in across Nigerian public health institutions to evaluate the institutional practice concerning management of CSOM. Information enquired include: Proportion of CSOM among the ear, nose and throat (ENT) patient load, routinely applied treatments and challenges facing availability of standard treatment options. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 15 (Chicago Illinois, USA), and presented descriptively.

Results: Responses were returned from 17 otolaryngologists (68% [17/25]) practicing in institutions across the six geopolitical zones with a mean duration of otolaryngology services of 22.4 (14.8) years. The CSOM patients constitute an average of 25.3% (13.1) of ENT patient load, with an average of 31 (15.3) % having significant hearing loss. Surgery have never been tried in 41% (7/17) of the institutions due to lack of facilities and/or expertise. Among institutions that offer surgery, 40% (4/10) offer only cortical mastoidectomy and only 30% (3/10) offer type 1 tympanoplasty. Achievements of permanent dry ears were reported more in institutions that offer surgery. Unaffordable cost of hearing aid and lack of expertise for tympanoplasty are the major challenging factors for rehabilitation of CSOM induced hearing loss.

Conclusion: Considering the enormity of CSOM in Nigeria, and the fact that > 40% (7/17) of the public health institutions still lack facilities and/or expertise for surgical treatments for CSOM, public otolaryngological centers should not only be adequately equipped for tympanomastoid surgeries, attention should be focused on further training of experts in the operative techniques from within and outside the country.

Keywords: Chronic suppurative otitis media; Ear discharge; Hearing aids; Hearing loss; Mastoidectomy; Tympanoplasty.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Smith AW, Hatcher J, Mackenzie IJ, Thompson S, Bal I, Macharia I, et al. Randomised controlled trial of treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media in Kenyan school children. Lancet. 1996;348:1128–33. - PubMed
    1. Elemraid MA, Brabin BJ, Fraser WD, Harper G, Faragher B, Atef Z, et al. Characteristics of hearing impairment in Yemeni children with chronic suppurative otitis media: A case-control study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2010;74:283–6. - PubMed
    1. Prakash R, Juyal D, Negi V, Pal S, Adekhandi S, Sharma M, et al. Microbiology of chronic suppurative otitis media in a tertiary care setup of Uttarakhand state, India. N Am J Med Sci. 2013;5:282–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olusesi AD. Otitis media as a cause of significant hearing loss among Nigerians. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2008;72:787–92. - PubMed
    1. Nwokoye NN, Egwari LO, Coker AO, Olubi OO, Ugoji EO, Nwachukwu SC. Predisposing and bacteriological features of otitis media. Afr J Microbiol Res. 2012;6:520–5.