Abstract
Children with Down syndrome are at risk to develop otitis media with effusion (OME). We performed a retrospective and cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the prevalence of OME in children with Down syndrome (DS) for consecutive age categories between 6 months and 12 years. Clinical and audiometric data were available for 107 children followed in a multidisciplinary Down team. A high prevalence of OME was found at the age of 1 year (66.7 %), with a second peak prevalence of 60 % at 6–7 years. A declining trend was observed in children ≥8 years. Overall, 52.3 % of DS children had either OME or ventilation tubes at the time of evaluation. Hearing thresholds were significantly higher in children with bilateral OME (median 36.7 decibel hearing level (dB HL), range 26.7–46.1) compared to those with at least one normally ventilated middle ear (median 28.3 dB HL, range 22.8–3.3), p = 0.013. Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of OME in children with Down syndrome, with a peak of ≥60 % around 1 and 6–7 years. A declining trend is seen in older children. Mild to moderate hearing loss was present in children with bilateral OME.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- BAHA:
-
Bone-anchored hearing aid
- dB HL:
-
Decibel hearing level
- DS:
-
Down syndrome
- ENT:
-
Ear-nose-throat
- OME:
-
Otitis media with effusion
- SSNHL:
-
Sensorineural hearing loss
- VT:
-
Ventilation tube
References
Balkany TJ, Downs MP, Jafek BW, Krajicek MJ (1979) Hearing loss in Down’s syndrome. A treatable handicap more common than generally recognized. Clin Pediatr 18(2):116–118
Barr E, Dungworth J, Hunter K, McFarlane M, Kubba H (2011) The prevalence of ear, nose and throat disorders in preschool children with Down’s syndrome in Glasgow. Scott Med J 56(2):98–103. doi:10.1258/smj.2011.011036
Bull MJ (2011) Health supervision for children with Down syndrome. Pediatrics 128(2):393–406. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-1605
Cunningham C, McArthur K (1981) Hearing loss and treatment in young Down’s syndrome children. Child Care Health Dev 7(6):357–374
Harigai S, Tanaka Y, Iino Y (1996) Hearing level of otitis media with effusion in children with Down’s syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 35(3):288–288. doi:10.1016/0165-5876(96)83710-4
Iino Y, IY, Harigai S, Tanaka Y, Nagai K (1996) Clinical course of otitis media with effusion in children with Down syndrome. In: Recent advances in otitis media. Hamilton, Ontario, pp 52–53
Iino Y, Imamura Y, Harigai S, Tanaka Y (1999) Efficacy of tympanostomy tube insertion for otitis media with effusion in children with Down syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 49(2):143–149
Isaacson G (2007) Diagnosis of pediatric cholesteatoma. Pediatrics 120(3):603–608. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0120
Jerger J (1970) Clinical experience with impedance audiometry. Arch Otolaryngol 92(4):311–324
Lewis MP, Bradford Bell E, Evans AK (2011) A comparison of tympanometry with 226 Hz and 1000 Hz probe tones in children with Down syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 75(12):1492–1495. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2011.06.008
Maw AR, Bawden R (1994) Tympanic membrane atrophy, scarring, atelectasis and attic retraction in persistent, untreated otitis media with effusion and following ventilation tube insertion. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 30(3):189–204
McPherson B, Lai SP, Leung KK, Ng IH (2007) Hearing loss in Chinese school children with Down syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 71(12):1905–1915. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2007.09.003
Park AH, Wilson MA, Stevens PT, Harward R, Hohler N (2012) Identification of hearing loss in pediatric patients with Down syndrome. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 146(1):135–140. doi:10.1177/0194599811425156
Rodman R, Pine HS (2012) The otolaryngologist’s approach to the patient with Down syndrome. Otolaryngol Clin N Am 45(3):599–629. doi:10.1016/j.otc.2012.03.010, vii–viii
Roizen NJ, Wolters C, Nicol T, Blondis TA (1993) Hearing loss in children with Down syndrome. J Pediatr 123(1):S9–S12
Sheehan PZ, Hans PS (2006) UK and Ireland experience of bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA) in individuals with Down syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 70(6):981–986. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2005.10.008
Shott SR (2006) Down syndrome: common otolaryngologic manifestations. Am J Med Genet Part C, Seminars in medical genetics 142C(3):131–140. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.30095
Shott SR, Joseph A, Heithaus D (2001) Hearing loss in children with Down syndrome. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 61(3):199–205
Strome M (1981) Down’s syndrome: a modern otorhinolaryngological perspective. Laryngoscope 91(10):1581–1594
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest and did not receive any financial support related to this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Peter de Winter
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maris, M., Wojciechowski, M., Van de Heyning, P. et al. A cross-sectional analysis of otitis media with effusion in children with Down syndrome. Eur J Pediatr 173, 1319–1325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2323-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2323-5