[Acute otitis media in a pediatrics consulting office].

OBJECTIVE

To know the incidence and natural development of acute otitis media (AOM) in a pediatric outpatient office.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A descriptive study was performed on a population of 867 children, between the ages of 3 months and 7 years, diagnosed with AOM in a pediatric consultation room. The following data were recorded: age, gender, month, type of episode, number of visits to the consulting room and number of referrals to the ear, nose and throat specialist, as well as the symptoms and otoscopic signs that they showed. Observations were made after 15, 30 and 60 days.

RESULTS

Of this population, 146 children were diagnosed as having AOM. The incidence was 12.1% and 71.92% were new cases. The age with the larger number of AOM cases was 5 years (20.55%). February was the month with the most cases. The most frequent symptom was nasal congestion. Among the otoscopic signs, the most frequent were hyperaemia and convincing of the tympanic membrane.

CONCLUSIONS

Because the study was conducted on a select population, that attended by this outpatient service, the found incidence could be lower than if the study had been conducted on the general population.