Predisposing factors
The factors which predispose to a chronic suppurative otitis media include:
- an otitis media that was not promptly treated
- inappropriate or inadequate antibiotic therapy
- sepsis in the upper airway
- lowered resistance to infection, e.g. immunodeficiency, malnutrition, anaemia
- infection with a particularly virulent virus, e.g. measles
Some populations are considered to be at high risk of CSOM:
- high prevalence of disease among Indigenous people such as:
- the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian, Native American and Inuit populations - likely due to an interplay of factors, including socio-economic deprivation and possibly differences resulting from population genetics
- individuals with primary or secondary immunodeficiency are also susceptible to CSOM
- children with craniofacial malformation (including cleft palate) or chromosomal mutations such as Down syndrome are prone to chronic non-suppurative otitis media ('glue ear'), and by extrapolation may also be at greater risk of suppurative otitis media
- association with craniofacial malformation may be related to altered function of the Eustachian tube, coexistent immunodeficiency, or both
- children who have a grommet (ventilation tube) in the tympanic membrane to treat glue ear or recurrent acute otitis media may be more prone to develop CSOM
Reference:
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