Abstract
Background Chronic suppurative otitis media causes serious lifelong consequences when treatment is delayed. Early detection and effective treatment result in a good outcome and possible complications are thus avoided. The aim of this study was to determine the factors resulting in delayed care seeking for treatment of CSOM. Method and Patient The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital in Rwanda. A questionnaire was used to collect data of patients diagnosed with CSOM who attended ENT Department during the study period. We defined delayed care seeking as seeking treatment 6 months after onset of symptoms. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS 16.0. Result This study enrolled 109 patients, 97 (88.9%) of whom had delays in care seeking. Majority were young adults ranging between 21 and 30 years (39.2%) while 58.8% were rural residents. Fifty-eight patients (56.9%) of those with delayed presentation used traditional medicine. The main reason for delayed care seeking was low knowledge of CSOM reported by 88 (90.7%) patients. Conclusion This study shows that majority of patients with delayed care seeking are young adult patients. There is low knowledge concerning this disease and this significantly contributes to delayed care seeking.
Highlights
Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a common condition affecting ears and affects more children than adults [1] the disease may affect a child and persist into adulthood if left untreated [2]
A study conducted in Nigeria reported that among patients attending ENT 25% were found to have CSOM [3] while in Tanzanian a survey estimated that 14% of ENT patients had CSOM [2]
We excluded patients who had been treated for CSOM at this hospital before and patients diagnosed with other types of otitis media
Summary
Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a common condition affecting ears and affects more children than adults [1] the disease may affect a child and persist into adulthood if left untreated [2]. The clinical manifestation of CSOM tends to change as the disease progresses It is a common reason for patients to consult otorhinolaryngology department in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the factors resulting in delayed care seeking for treatment of CSOM. A questionnaire was used to collect data of patients diagnosed with CSOM who attended ENT Department during the study period. This study enrolled 109 patients, 97 (88.9%) of whom had delays in care seeking. The main reason for delayed care seeking was low knowledge of CSOM reported by 88 (90.7%) patients. This study shows that majority of patients with delayed care seeking are young adult patients. There is low knowledge concerning this disease and this significantly contributes to delayed care seeking
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