correlation of otolaryngological disorders and congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction

purpose: to determine the frequency of otolaryngological disorders in patients with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (cnldo) as compared to controls. methods: in this case-control study, 80 children with cnldo (cases) and 80 children without cnldo (controls) were examined for ophthalmological and otolaryngological dosirders. data analysis was performed using pearson chi-square and fisher exact tests for frequency values and t-test for mean values. results: mean age was 22.7±14.3 (range 5-72) months in the case group and 23.4±13.7 (range 9-72) months in controls (p=0.76). cnldo was bilateral in 7 (8.75%), left-sided in 23 (28.75%) and right-sided  in 50 (62.5%) cases .there were no significant differences between cases and controls in nasal, oral and external ear examinations, however otitis media with effusion (ome) was found in 26.3% of cases vs 10% in controls (p=0.01). odds ratio for ome in the cnldo group was 3.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.32-7.75). tympanometry was type a in 71.3%, type b in 22.5%, type c in 5%  and unrecordable in 1.3% of cases compared to type a in 88.8% and type b in 11.2% of controls (p=0.01). conclusion: the incidence of asymptomatic ome in patients with cnldo is higher than controls therefore, children with cnldo may need screening for ome for timely diagnosis and treatment