Epidemiological analysis of otitis media with effusion in children.

A study was conducted on 153 children with otitis media with effusion to assess risk factors for otitis media with effusion. Information was collected by questionnaire survey, clinical examination and audiological tests including tympanography. We investigated two groups of children with otitis media with effusion. Group 1 consisted of 70 children with otitis media with effusion who had not undergone myringotomy. Group 2 consisted of 83 children with otitis media with effusion who had undergone myringotomy. Bottle feeding and adenoidal hypertrophy occurred more frequently in Group 2 than in Group 1. These observations provide an epidemiologic and clinical basis for further investigations of otitis media with effusion.