The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric patients with otitis media with effusion

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a frequently self-limiting middle ear fluid accumulation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in patient referrals to pediatric Otorhinolaryngology (pENT) outpatient clinics. The aim of this study was to compare the patients who presented at our pENT outpatient clinic with OME during the pandemic with patients who presented during the equivalent period before the pandemic, and to investigate the effects of pandemic measures on OME. The study included patients aged 1-15 years who presented at the pENT Outpatient Clinic due to OME. Four groups were created based on the date of March 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was recorded in Turkey. The groups were formed as one for each year from March 2018 to March 2022. The total number of patients admitted to the pENT outpatient clinic was recorded. Group 1 (March 2018-March 2019) included 1338 patients diagnosed with OME, which constituted 12% of the total number of patients. Group 2 (March 2019- March 2020) included 1238 patients, Group 3 (March 2020-March 2021) 241 (8%), and Group 4 (March 2021-March 2022) 432 (9.4%). From this study, it was observed that the greater attention paid to the mask, social distance and hygiene rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implementation of distance education decreased the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections, and had a positive effect on the number of OME cases.