Allergy and recurrent middle ear effusion

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the otitis media with effusion (OME) groups that improved when treated with adenoidectomy and Ventilation Tube (VT), to the group of the recurred after surgery and detect the possible role of allergy in OME. Material and Methods: This study was performed on two groups. The Patient group consisted of 38 patients with recurrent OME with allergy and control group made up of 38 patients with OME without allergy and no recurrence. Diagnosis of inhalant and food allergy include positive skin prick test , total IgE. The patients ranged from 11 months to 14 years of age. Blood samples were analyzed in patients for serum total IgE concentrations. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0 version. Statistical significance was defined as P values less than 0.05. Results: Fifteen (39.47%) patients had positive skin tests for both inhalant and food allergens in the patients group. Five patients (13.15%) of the control group had a positive skin tests for both inhalant and food allergens. The mean concentration of serum IgE in the study group was 379.5 IU/ml and in the control group was 94.8 IU/ml. The results showed that allergic patients had four fold concentration than non-allergic group and this indicative of an allergic background in recurrent OME. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that inhalant and food allergy may play a role in the pathogenesis of recurrent OME. Thus, the possibility of allergy should be considered in OME patients that did not improve with medical treatment and adenoidectomy and VT insertion.