Evaluation of the relationship between chronic otitis media and allergic rhinitis

Aim: This study was planned for the purpose of revealing whether patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) carry a greater risk compared with healthy individuals in terms of developing chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). Materyal and Method: 676 volunteer patients (402 female, 274 male) who were referred to the otorhinolaryngology (ENT) outpatient clinics of secondary care hospitals were randomly included in the study. The score for allergic rhinitis (SFAR) points and otomicroscopic examination findings of all the volunteers were recorded. The patients were grouped as AR (+) and AR (-) based on whether they had allergic rhinitis, and as CSOM (+) and CSOM (-) based on whether they had chronic suppurative otitis media. For all statistical analysis, SPSS version 21.0 was used. Results: While 18.6% of the AR (+) patients were KSOM (+), 28.7% of the AR (-) patients were KSOM (+). Chronic suppurative otitis media was seen significantly more in the AR (-) group compared with the AR (+) group (p<0.026). Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis is not seen as a risk factor in the etiology of chronic suppurative otitis media. Conversely, the factors that play a role in the etiology of allergic rhinitis could be effective against chronic suppurative otitis media