The Prevalence Rate of Helicobacter pylori Infection in, Chronic Otitis Media With Effusion Patients

BACKGROUND: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common disease in children. Viral or bacterial infections, allergy, adenoids, functional abnormalities of the Eustachian tube, and gastroesophageal reflux might have a possible role in the pathogenesis of OME. However, the exact pathogenesis of OME is still unsettled. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare Helicobacter pylori prevalence rates in the nasopharynx of pediatric patients with and without OME. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-four patients (50 males and 34 females) who were subjected to adenoidectomy and myringotomy were included in the study group. Ninety-one patients (48 males and 43 females) who had only adenoidectomy were selected as the control group. Detection of H. pylori was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Adenoid samples were positive for H. pylori in 21 (25%) patients in study group and 18 (19.8%) patients in control group. In the study group, 36 (42.8%) effusion samples (otitis media) of the patients were positive for H. pylori. In an analysis that compared H. pylori–negative and –positive children, the odds ratio (OR) for the occurrence of H. pylori was 1.35 (95% CI, 0.66 - 2.71). The association of age with H. pylori positivity decreased for 1-5 years age group, (1.09; 95% CI, 0.39 – 3.05) but increased for the 6-10 years group (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 0.61–3.58). Furthermore, the association of sex with H. pylori positivity decreased for the male group (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.50 – 2.91), but increased in the female group (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 0.51–0.4.05). CONCLUSIONS: Heavy colonization of H. pylori in adenoid tissue and middle ear might have a role in pathogenesis of this infection. For OME cases resistant to medical treatment, it might be meaningful to evaluate the patient for H. pylori.