Surgical Management of Otitis Media with Effusion in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kaduna

Background: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a significant cause of hearing impairment, particularly among children. Surgical management is indicated when medical treatment has failed. The surgical treatment may target the underlying cause or the affected ear. This study aimed to review the surgical management of patients with OME in a tertiary care hospital in Kaduna, North West Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study that reviewed patients with OME who had a surgical operation from January 2019 to December 2023. Clinical features, audiometric findings, type of surgery and treatment outcomes were extracted from medical records. Information was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 27. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the relationship between categorical variables. A P value was set at <0.05. Results: There were 661 OME cases during the period under review; only 44 (6.7%) had surgery. Most patients were children under 10 years (75%). The male gender constituted 56.8%. Moderate conductive hearing loss was predominant in both right and left ears (39.4% and 36.4%, respectively). Hearing loss (88.6%) and nasal discharge (70.5%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The most common surgery was myringotomy with adenoidectomy ± tonsillectomy, done in 36.4% of patients, and 31.8% of patients had ventilation tube insertion with adenoidectomy ± tonsillectomy. Post-operative symptom resolution occurred in 87.9% of patients. No statistically significant association was found between surgical modality and symptom resolution ( P = 0.057). Conclusion: Surgical management of OME is highly successful in patients with failed medical treatment.