Discharging ear and teething

ABSTRACT

The relation between tooth eruption and otitis media is still a subject of debate. Teething may produce conditions leadings to initiation or exacerbation of otitis media as well as other local and systemic clinical manifestations. Fifty infants [Aged 6-23 months] having acute otitis media during teething were selected. Fifteen healthy infants of similar age and sex distribution were chosen as a control group. Both groups are subjected to full clinical examination including ENT and oral examination. Serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase, estimation of IgG, IgM, T lymphocyte count, and T lymphocyte subset using monoclonal antibodies. Serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase in both groups were within normal range, indicating that neither teething nor otitis media were associated with other systemic disturbances. Humoral immune mechanism has not been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis nor the recurrence of otitis media since IgG and IgM did not differ between patients and control group. However cellular immunity was found to be defective in these infants as manifested by an imbalance in T-cell and T-subsets cells leading to a deficiency in the immunoregulatory function of the immune system in infants having otitis media. Recurrent attacks of acute otitis media in otitis prone children could be attributed to a functional helper T-cells deficiency