Relationship of passive cigarette smoking to otitis media.
Ilicali OC, Keleş N, Değer K, Savaş I.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. ocenker@hotmail.com
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of passive smoking on otitis media with effusion (OME) and recurrent otitis media (ROM). DESIGN: A case-control study of children who received ventilation tubes and who were followed up for 1 year to determine the risk of developing postoperative otorrhea and early extrusion in relation to exposure to passive cigarette smoke. SETTING: Otorhinolaryngology Clinic of Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey. PATIENTS: A total of 166 children 3 to 7 years old who required tympanostomy tubes because of OME and ROM (case group) compared with an age-matched control group of 166 children. The control group consisted of children who did not meet and never had met criteria for insertion of tympanostomy tubes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Statistical analysis of factors associated with a higher prevalence of OME or ROM, postoperative otorrhea, and early tube extrusion. RESULTS: Passive smoking was a significant risk factor for OME and ROM. The case group was exposed to a mean of 19.6 cigarettes per day vs 14.4 cigarettes per day for the control group (P<.004). Only maternal smoking was a significant factor (P<.001); no association was found with paternal smoking. Prospective follow-up of the case group showed no significant difference in the clinical course of OME and ROM between maternally exposed and non-maternally exposed children. CONCLUSIONS: Passive smoking increases the risk of OME and ROM in children between 3 and 7 years old. The avoidance of daily exposure to domestic tobacco smoke could have a public health impact.
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PMID: 10406313 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]