ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Retension of inflammatory cells and cytokines in the middle ear cleft can result in ongoing chronic otitis media with effusion. This study aims to investigate the role of these inflammatory cells and cytokines in the middle ear effusion (MEE) of children with otitis media with effusion. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We analyzed 46 pediatric middle ear effusion samples for IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha and inflammatory cells and tried to elucidate the relationship between the concentration of these cytokines, inflammatory cells and clinical features. RESULTS: 1) The concentration of TNF-alphain MEE from children younger than 2 years was significantly higher than the levels of children older than 2 years (p<0.05). 2) The concentration of TNF-alpha in MEE of preoperative medication group was significantly lower than the levels of non-medication group (p<0.05). 3) The concentration of IL-6 in MEE of the ears with hearing threshold poorer than 35 dB was significantly higher than the levels of the ears with hearing threshold better than 35 dB (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that TNF-alpha and IL-6 are intimately involved in the inflammatory cascade of the middle ear and suggest regulation of these cytokines as possible sites of future therapeutic intervention in otitis media with effusion.