Role of nasopharyngeal reflux in the etiology of otitis media with effusion.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate nasopharyngeal reflux in children with otitis media with effusion (OME) using 24-hour dual-probe pH monitoring and to determine whether nasopharyngeal reflux has a role in the etiology of OME.

METHODS

The study was performed in 20 children with OME and adenoid hypertrophy (± tonsillar hypertrophy) and in 20 controls who had adenoid hypertrophy (± tonsillar hypertrophy) without any ear problems. All subjects underwent 24-hour pH monitoring with a dual probe. The proximal probe was placed in the nasopharynx in this procedure.

RESULTS

In the study group, 25% (5 of 20) of the patients were found to have nasopharyngeal reflux and 30% (6 of 20) of them were found to have esophageal reflux. On the other hand, nasopharyngeal reflux was detected in 3 (15%) of 20 children in the control group, whereas esophageal reflux was detected in 3 (15%) of them. When the groups were compared for the incidence of nasopharyngeal reflux and esophageal reflux, the difference was not found to be statistically significant (p > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

We detected higher nasopharyngeal and esophageal reflux rates in the OME group, although the difference between the groups studied was not statistically significant. This issue must be addressed in new studies performed in larger series.