Spectrum of ENT diseases among urban school children in South Kerala, India

Abstract

Objective: Prevalence of ENT diseases is high among paediatric age group.ENT morbidities have significant impact on the scholastic performance and overall development. Hence it is prudent to estimate the magnitude and distribution of ENT diseases in our community for proper planning and implementation of health care facilities. Materials and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in an urban school in South Kerala. 2571 children studying in standards 1 to 10 were subjected to a detailed ENT examination. Results: The most prevalent external ear disease was impacted wax, present in 40.76% of children. Eustachian tube dysfunction without middle ear effusion was the most common middle ear disease (2.8%), followed by acute otitis media, chronic suppurative otitis media and otitis media with effusion. Hearing impairment was detected in 2.22% of cases. Nasal septal deviation in 17.15% of cases, whereas acute rhinitis, allergic rhinitis and acute sinusitis in 4.94%, 1.24% and 0.35% of cases respectively. Among the throat diseases, acute follicular tonsillitis, chronic adenotonsillitis, acute pharyngitis and significant (grade 3 or 4) tonsillar hypertrophy without any evidence of tonsillitis were present respectively in 0.08%, 0.58%, 0.51% and 1.63% of children. Conclusion: The improved health education and socioeconomic environment may be reason for relatively low prevalence of ENT morbidities among urban children in South Kerala, compared to studies performed in the rural areas of neighboring states.