Abstract
We review 221 cases of children with acute otitis media, who were treated in the emergency outpatient clinic of Hiroo Metropolitan General Hospital during the past 5 years. The age distribution showed a peak between 3 and 4 years of age and the male-female ratio was 5: 4. The most frequent complaint was otalgia. 82% of the cases had no other than rubor as tympanic findings; and no more than 1% had perforation. In 19% of the cases paracentesis was indicated, where tympanic membranes were swollen, red, gray, blistering, or simply reddened with severe pain. Only 12% of the cases, however, underwent paracentesis in fact. 34% of the opposite ears of the cases showed acute otitis media; 17% showed exudative otitis media; the others were normal. We could follow up 25% of the cases until the disease has been cured. 14% of these followed-up cases were complicated with exudative otitis media, where paracentesis and insertion of tympanostomy tubes were perfor-med. It is noted that many of our cases are on the inflammatory stage, probably by reason that many of our patients came to our hospital within 1 or 2 hours of the onset of the symptom.
