Background: In developing countries, the rate of complications from chronic suppurative otitis media is still high, due to factors associated with poverty. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media and associated complications.Patients and methods: We prospectively studied all patients presenting with chronic suppurative otitis media to the ear, nose and throat unit of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, over a two-year period.Results: One hundred and sixty new cases of chronic suppurative otitis media were seen. These constituted 11.1 per cent of all new cases and 21.5 per cent of all otological cases seen. About half (51.7 per cent) of these patients were younger than 15 years. Most patients were from rural areas and had been previously managed by unlicensed, untrained practitioners. Complications were mostly seen in children. Intracranial complications were seen in 10 (6.3 per cent) cases; this was associated with a high mortality rate.Conclusion: This study found that, in Nigeria, a developing country, 'safe' chronic suppurative otitis media was not without serious problems. Provision of adequate health facilities may reduce such problems. Key words: Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media; Developing Country; Late Presentation; Complications; Management IntroductionOtitis media comprises inflammation of the middle-ear cleft. It remains a relevant topic of research both in the developing and the developed world. It is the most common otological presentation in most ENT units 1 and is commonly encountered in general practice. 2 The anatomical relation between the small middle-ear cleft in the temporal bone and the middle cranial fossa superiorly makes spreading infection in this space potentially fatal.3 However, the incidences of this and other forms of complications have reduced tremendously since the advent of antibiotics.However, within rural and some semi-urban communities in developing countries such as Nigeria, the interplay of poverty and inadequate specialist ENT health care still makes complications of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) a problem for the few available otolaryngologists. Late presentation and low socioeconomic factors are identifiable risk factors for the development of such complications.This study assessed CSOM amongst patients presenting at the otorhinolaryngology unit of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex,

Shunt review without thoracocentesis or thoracostomy is an effective treatment of symptomatic hydrothorax following VP shunt, especially when there is no intrathoracic shunt migration.

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