Ear foreign bodies: observations on the clinical profile in Sokoto, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Ear foreign bodies are common otorhinolaryngological emergencies which must be removed otherwise they may present with various complications. This paper reviews cases of ear foreign bodies seen over a seven year period from January 1995 to December 2001 in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria.

METHOD

This is a retrospective study of all case folders of patients who presented with ear foreign bodies whose clinical features and management modalities were analyzed.

RESULTS

The total number of patients reviewed were 207. There were 126 males (60%) and 81 females (40%) with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. Their ages ranged from 1 to 65 years with 61.8% being children under 10 years old. Agricultural seed was the commonest documented foreign body (15%). Deliberate insertion by patients accounted for 70% of the cases while accidental insertion accounted for 30%. Ear foreign bodies became complicated in 41 patients (19.8%) at presentation one of them requiring a major surgical operation (posterior tympanotomy) to remove the foreign body. About 99.5% of the foreign bodies were removed through the per meatal approach with 79.8% being carried out by the nurses and doctors who had received basic training to do so.

CONCLUSION

Ear foreign bodies may become complicated and so needs to be removed using standard methods which should be carried out by those specially trained to do so.