Relationship between allergic rhinitis and secretory otitis media in children with adenoid hypertrophy

Objective To investigate the correlation between otitis media with effusion( OME) and allergic rhinitis( AR) in children with adenoid hypertrophy. Methods 870 patients under 12 years old with adenoid hypertrophy were collected for current retrospective analysis. Association between AR and eustachian tube dysfunction and OME was calculated by Chi-square test and logistic regression model. Results The prevalence of allergic rhinitis children with adenoid hypertrophy was 30. 11%. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in different age groups had significant difference and increased with age( P 0. 01). The probability of eustachian tube dysfunction and OME occurring in patients younger than 6 years was high and reached the highest in 1 to 3 years old patients( P = 0. 001). OME prevalence was higher in spring( P = 0. 001) than in other seasons. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis with eustachian tube dysfunction was 1. 4times higher than those without allergic rhinitis( P = 0. 042). The detection rate of OME with AR was 0. 32 times hihger than that of OME without AR( P = 0. 052). Conclusion The structures,physiological and pathological characteristics of eustachian tube are the main factors causing eustachian tube dysfunction and high incidence of OME. Allergy maybe the secondary factor. With children' s growth,the pathogenicity of the former becomes lower and the latter becomes higher,but the incidence of otitis media with effusion decreases.