Effect of Adenoid Hypertrophy on Otitis Media with Effusion (OME): A Study of 120 Pediatric Cases

The adenoids are lymphoid tissue, located behind the nose and soft palate; normally present in all children. They are susceptible to frequent infections of their nose and throat, resulting enlarged adenoids which cause obstructing nasal breathing. Since the adenoids are close to the Eustachian tube, their enlargement or infection may contribute to recurring diseases such as acute or chronic otitis media, Eustachian tube dysfunction, otitis media with effusion (OME) etc. OME is a very common disease; approximately 90% of children (80% of individual ears) have it at some point before reaching school age, often from 6 months to 4 years of age. Spontaneous resolution occurs usually within 3 months, but 30% to 40% of children develop recurrent OME, and 5% to 10% of the episodes last 1 year or longer [1,2].