Prevalence and impact of chronic otitis media in school age children in Brazil. First epidemiologic study concerning chronic otitis media in Latin America

Objective: The first epidemiological study carried out in Latin America to investigate the prevalence of otological disease and its impact in a repres entative random sample of the school children population. Methods: A cross sectional epidemiological survey to investigate the epidemiology of otitis in a representative random sample of 1119 children and adolescents from a t otal of 486 166 elementary and high-school students, aged 6-18 years, regul arly registered in one of the 521 public and private schools of the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, southern Brazil. The intervi ews were conducted individually, in the school, by an otolaryngologist or a pediatrician. The interview included all of the personal data and also det ailed questions regarding otological disorders and hearing. The otological examination was carried out with Mini-Heine otoscopes and the audiometric e valuation with the AudioScope 3(TM) with 25dB intensity. The questionnaire and basic procedures for medical examination had been previously tested thr ough a pilot test in two schools. Results: The prevalence of chronic otitis media was 0.94%. Impacted wax was found in 12.3% of the students. The prev alence of abnormalities (excluding wax) in the otoscopy examination was 10. 5%. It was found that 8.3% of students had a past history of otitis and 7.7 % had a past history of otorrhea. These two special groups presented statis tically significant associations with chronic otitis media. hearing loss an d otolaryngological surgeries (when compared with the other school children ). Parents and school children seemed significantly able to identify a spec ial group of children with past history of otitis during childhood. (C) 200 1 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.