The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on acute otitis media among the pediatric population

BACKGROUND: The incidence of respiratory diseases has dropped during the school closures at the COVID-19 pandemic including acute otitis media (AOM) among the pediatric population. METHODS: This study included 2090 patients under 12 years old, that were diagnosed with AOM between March 2019 and February 2021 at the otolaryngology and pediatrics emergency room at a public tertiary hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: There was a significant drop in number of AOM cases diagnosed during the quarantine. The group before the pandemic represents 87,2% of the total attendings and the first two months of quarantine had the major attendance discrepancy between the same period during pre-pandemic times. CONCLUSION: Quarantine isolation measures and school closures may have helped reduce not only the coronavirus spread but also other infectious diseases such as AOM among the pediatric population.