[Otologic problems in turner syndrome]

Turner syndrome is the most common sex chromosome abnormality in females, affecting an estimated 3% of all conceiving females. Otologic disease is a common problem in Turner syndrome patients that is due to a combination of small dysfunction Eustachian tube, palatal dysfunction and cochlear malformation. This study assessed the otologic and audiologic characteristics of a group of Turner syndrome patients. We studied 40 Turner patients aged 10 to 20 years [mean age: 15.84 years, SD= 2.67]. Pure tone audiometry was carried out for all of them. Forty percent of the patients reported a history of middle ear disease. Analysis of audiometric data in 40 patients tested reveals normal hearing in 47.5%, pure sensorineural hearing loss in 32.5%, pure conductive hearing loss in 17.5% and mixed hearing loss in 2.5% of patients. Careful follow up during early childhood of children with turner syndrome is necessary to detect middle ear disease and prevent the probable sequel. However, long term periodic follow up is mandatory even after resolution of middle ear disease to detect sensorineural hearing loss

Health problems in Turner syndrome

Although cardiovascular malformations are well-recognized congenital anomalies in Turner syndrome [TS], other clinical features and a great variety of dysmorphic signs can also be observed. There are few studies about different medical problems in pre-selected groups of patients with Turner syndrome. Therefore, in this study we aimed to assess the prevalence of some medical problems in Turner syndrome. This was a case series from April to October 2005. We studied 40 patients with TS who attended the Endocrine and Metabolic Research Center. Audiometry, echocardiography, ultrasonography of kidneys and urinary tracts, thyroid function tests, fasting blood sugar, lipid profile as well as anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were assessed in all patients and collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 10. Of the 40 subjects 62.5% [n=25] had cardiac anomalies, 20% [n=8] had high blood pressure, about 60% [n=24] suffered from hearing loss and 15% [n=6] suffered from duplication or dilatation of urinary collecting system. The relative frequency of hypothyroidism, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia was 25% [n=10], 30% [n=12] and 32.5% [n=13], respectively. Medical problems are common in TS patients and the routine screening of their health conditions should be performed at the time of diagnosis and at regular intervals