Prevalence Of Ear Infections Research Articles

Hearing-related quality of life in children and adolescents in rural Alaska.

This study evaluated the Hearing Environments and Reflection on Quality of Life (HEAR-QL) questionnaire in rural Alaska, including an addendum crafted through community feedback to reflect the local context. The objectives were to assess whether HEAR-QL score was inversely correlated with hearing loss and middle ear disease in an Alaska Native population. The HEAR-QL questionnaires for children and adolescents were administered as part of a cluster randomized trial in rural Alaska from 2017 to 2019. Enrolled students completed an audiometric evaluation and HEAR-QL questionnaire on the same day. A cross-sectional evaluation of questionnaire data was utilized. A total of 733 children (ages 7-12 years) and 440 adolescents (ages ≥13 years) completed the questionnaire. Median HEAR-QL scores were similar among children with and without hearing loss (Kruskal-Wallis, p= .39); however, adolescent HEAR-QL scores significantly decreased with increasing hearing loss (p< .001). Median HEAR-QL scores were significantly lower in both children (p= .02) and adolescents (p< .001) with middle ear disease compared with those without. In both children and adolescents, the addendum scores were strongly correlated with total HEAR-QL score (ρSpearman= 0.72 and 0.69, respectively). The expected negative association between hearing loss and HEAR-QL score was observed in adolescents. However, there was significant variability that could not be explained by hearing loss, and further investigation is warranted. The expected negative association was not observed in children. HEAR-QL scores were associated with middle ear disease in both children and adolescents, making it potentially valuable in populations where the prevalence of ear infections is high. Level 2 Clinicaltrials.gov registration numbers: NCT03309553.

Prevalence of Ear Infections in Children (0 to 15 Years) of India: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ear ailments in children are a major public health problem in India. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to quantitatively pool the epidemiologic evidence on the prevalence of ear diseases and related morbidities in children (0 to 15 years) of India.

Lower thriving among females with hearing impairment than males - a cross-sectional study of 185 primary and secondary students in Greenland

ABSTRACT The prevalence of ear infections and hearing i mpairment among Greenlandic children is amajor public health problem, and studies investigating the association between hearing impairment and thriving among Greenlandic children are scarce. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hearing impairment and thriving in asample of school-children in Sisimiut, Greenland. This cross-sectional study included children from 5th to 10th grade from two schools in Sisimiut and two schools located in nearby settlements. Participants filled out aquestionnaire and underwent ear examination and audiometry. Binary logistic regression examined the associations of hearing impairment and thriving variables defined as self-rated health, headache and school satisfaction. 179 children participated from schools in Sisimiut, and 6 children were from schools in settlements. The prevalence of hearing impairment was 10% among school-children in Sisimiut. There was atendency among girls with hearing impairment to have higher odds ratios for low self-rated health, often headache and low school-satisfaction. This study indicates that girls with hearing impairment are more susceptible to low thriving compared to girls with normal hearing. Interventions targeting the thriving of hearing impairment among children in Greenland should take gender differences into account.

Enumeration of the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Different Bacterial Isolates from ENT Patients with Ear Infections

Children are more susceptible to ear infection than adults worldwide, especially in developing countries. In Bangladesh like other developing countries antibiotics is a common choice of treatment in an ear infection. This study was sought to determine causative agents both in right and left ear infection and their antibacterial susceptibility pattern from patients with an ear infection. Specimens of ear discharge were collected aseptically using a sterile swab and cultured on MacConkey’s agar, blood agar, and chocolate agar. After inoculating on appropriate culture media bacterial isolates were identified by their colony morphology, culture characteristics, Gram reaction, and biochemical tests. In this study, a total of 70 positive cases of patients were included. Among these 27 (38.6%) were male, and 43(61.4%) were female. The prevalence of ear infection was significantly high in females (61.4%) than males (38.6%). The predominant bacterial isolates from positive culture were Staphylococcus aureus 43(61.4%), followed by Pseudomonas spp., 13 (18.6%), Streptococcus spp., 8(11.4%), Proteus spp., 5(7.2%), and Klebsiella spp., 1(1.4%). The antibacterial agent like Amikacin and Gentamicin showed a high level of antibacterial effect on all identified bacterial isolates. On the other hand, 98.6% of isolates were found highly resistant to Co-Trimoxazole and Flucloxacillin. Moreover, Streptococcus spp., Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp., and Pseudomonas spp., were highly resistant to multiple drugs (more than 4). A high degree of antibiotic resistance was observed among most of the drugs used in this study. However, Amikacin and Gentamicin were highly effective against the isolated bacterial species. Therefore, culture and susceptibility tests are vital for the appropriate treatment of ear infection.

TO STUDY THE INFECTIVE PROFILE OF PATIENTS WITH EAR INFECTIONS IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL BIHAR: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.

Aim: to study the infective profile of patients with ear infections.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: The present prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of ENT, Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India .Among 200 patients attended the OPD of the ENT presented with ear infection/discharge. Aural discharge samples collected through a sterile culture sensitivity tube and sent to microbiological lab and culture sensitivity reports collected from the patients during follow up visits.&#x0D; Results: majority of participants were in the age group between 1 and 20 years. 60.5% of the patients had ear discharge for ≥14 days. The prevalence of ear infection among females (53.5%) was slightly higher than males (46.5%). Gram negative organisms are detected in (47.0%), Gram positive organisms detected (34.5%), fungal infection detected (6.0%) and no organism detected (12.5%) of the aural swab samples.&#x0D; Conclusion: The profile and predominant bacteria isolated highlights the need for continuous surveillance and reporting of the microbiology of ear infection in our local community in order to guide clinicians use the appropriate antimicrobials towards the incriminated etiologies.&#x0D; Keywords: culture, sensitivity, ear infection

Study of infective profile of patients with ear infections in lower Himalayan region

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; An ear infection is a bacterial, viral and fungal infection of the external or middle ear. The aim of the study was to study the infective profile of patients with ear infections in lower himalayan region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; 100 patients with ear infections/ear discharge were included in the study. Aural discharge samples collected through a sterile culture sensitivity tube and sent to microbiological lab in the Regional Hospital Bilaspur (SRL diagnostics). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; Out of total 100 ears swab samples examined &lt;em&gt;Staphylococcus aureus&lt;/em&gt; (35%) was the commonest infecting organism followed by &lt;em&gt;Pseudomonas aeruginosa&lt;/em&gt; (25%), mould (10%), &lt;em&gt;Staphylococcus epidermidis&lt;/em&gt; (06%), &lt;em&gt;Escherichia coli&lt;/em&gt; (05%) and &lt;em&gt;Klebsiella pneumoniae&lt;/em&gt; (05%).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/strong&gt; Prevalence of ear infection is a major health problem in developing countries due to the poor living standard and hygienic conditions.&lt;/p&gt;

Bacterial isolates and drug susceptibility patterns of ear discharge from patients with ear infection at Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College.

Ear infection is a common problem for both children and adults especially in developing countries. However in Bangladesh particularly in the study area, there is no recent data that shows the magnitude of the problem. A retrospective study was conducted from from April, 2013 to March, 2014 at Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College. Ear discharge samples were cultured on MacConkey agar, blood agar and chocolate agar plates. A total of 115 ear discharge samples were tested for bacterial isolation and 86 (74.78%) cases were found positive; 49 (56.98%) were gram negative bacteria and the predominant isolate were S. aureus 21 (24.42%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 20 (23.26%). Of individuals 70 (81.40%) had single bacterial infection and 16 (18.60%) had mixed bacterial infections. Under five children were more affected by ear infection. The prevalence of ear infection was higher in females than males (64.35% vs 35.65%) (P=0.879). The prevalence of ear infection was very high in the study area. Majority of the bacterial isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Hence antibiotics susceptibility test is mandatory before prescribing any antibiotics.Bangladesh J Med Microbiol 2015; 9 (2): 20-23

Ear Infection and Its Associated Risk Factors in First Nations and Rural School-Aged Canadian Children.

Background. Ear infections in children are a major health problem and may be associated with hearing impairment and delayed language development. Objective. To determine the prevalence and the associated risk factors of ear infections in children 6–17 years old residing on two reserves and rural areas in the province of Saskatchewan. Methodology. Data were provided from two rural cross-sectional children studies. Outcome variable of interest was presence/absence of an ear infection. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between ear infection and the other covariates. Results. The prevalence of ear infection was 57.8% for rural Caucasian children and 43.6% for First Nations children living on-reserve. First Nations children had a lower risk of ear infection. Ear infection prevalence was positively associated with younger age; first born in the family; self-reported physician-diagnosed tonsillitis; self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma; and any respiratory related allergy. Protective effect of breastfeeding longer than three months was observed on the prevalence of ear infection. Conclusions. While ear infection is a prevalent condition of childhood, First Nations children were less likely to have a history of ear infections when compared to their rural Caucasian counterparts.

Air quality improvement and the prevalence of ear infections

Air quality improvement and the prevalence of ear infections