Acute Otitis Media-Associated Diarrhea in Children Less than 2 Years Old

Abstract

Background: the reported incidence of diarrhea in non-enteric infections can be questioned because many cases of diarrhea are adverse events associated with antibiotics. Although  it is well known that one of the none-enteric infections that has diarrhea as one of its manifestations is acute otitis media, its sometimes missed as a possible cause. Objectives: to estimate the prevalence of acute otitis media in children presented with diarrhea and to describe the characteristics of acute otitis media-associated diarrhea after exclusion of antibiotics use. Method: sixty patients (age < 2 years) complaining from diarrhea as their chief complaint were included in this cross sectional study. Their ears had been examined using pneumatic otoscopy, looking for evidence of acute otitis media. Mother-directed specific questions related to the characters of diarrhea, constitutional symptoms, and associated symptoms had been used, in addition to laboratory stool exam. Results: patients involved in this study were 60, 22 (36.7%) females and 38 (63.3%) males. Their ages range from 1-19 months (8.31± 4.30). Acute otitis media was present in 27 cases (45%). There was significant association between acute otitis media-associated diarrhea and age under 1 year (p 0.017), underweight (p 0.012), and ear pain (p <0.001). Conclusions: acute otitis media is a very possible diagnosis for any young baby presented with diarrhea, especially in underweight infant with ear pain, so pneumatic otoscopic ear examination is recommended to be a routine for them.