[The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of exudative otitis media in the child population of the city of Almaty].

The objective of the present study was to evaluate specific features of the prevalence of exudative otitis media (EOM) among the children residing in the city of Almaty based on the analysis of applications of such patients for medical assiatance to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the "Atlant-Med"" Clinic during the period from 2010 till 2012. Diagnosis of exudative otitis media was confirmed by routine examination of ENT organs supplemented by otoendoscopy, tympanometry, and registration of delayed evoked otoacoustic emission. The relative frequency of inflammatory diseases of the middle ear in the structure of overall ENT morbidity in the child population of Almaty was estimated at 18.4±0.4%. Half of the patients (1116 or 49.8±1.1%) with middle ear pathology applied to the Clinic for the treatment of exudative otitis media. The frequency of applications for medical assistance in connection with the inflammatory diseases of the middle ear (especially acute otitis media) increased during the autumn months, i.e. in the periods characterized by repeated sharp changes in the air temperature. The same trend was documented with respect to EOM; the frequency of application for medical aid among the patients with this pathology increased during winter, spring, and autumn periods and fell down to a minimum in the summer.