Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media in urban private school children of Nepal

Chronic suppurative otitis media is one of the common ear diseases of the ear, particularly in childhood. It is the commonest cause of persistent mild to moderate hearing impairment in children and young adults. AIM: To find out the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media among school children studying in urban private schools of Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out among 500 school children aged between 5 -15 years. Students were selected from urban private schools of four districts of Nepal. In all students, history was taken and otoscopic examination done from May 2006 to October 2006. Data were described using frequency and percentage. Study design: Prospective cross sectional study. RESULTS: Results showed that the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media in children studying in urban private schools of Nepal is 5.0%. Unilateral disease was seen in 72.0%, 76.0% had a tubotympanic disease and 24.0% had atticoantral disease. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media in urban private school children in Nepal is higher than other studies done in private school children. Health education, improvement of socioeconomic status and health facilities will be helpful in reducing the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media.