Background. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a chronic infection of the middle ear cleft. In sub-Saharan Africa >50% of cases occur in children <10 years of age. Objectives. To describe the otological, audiological and bacteriological findings in children with CSOM. Methods. We conducted a prospective study at the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic at Universitas Academic Hospital between August 2009 and December 2010. We included all children with CSOM over this period. Patients underwent ENT and paediatric examination, and were tested for HIV. Pus swabs were taken after an ear toilet for routine microbiology, fungal and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture. We performed audiological testing after the otorrhoea had resolved. Results. Eighty-six children (113 ears) were included, with a median age of 4.6 years (range 1 -12 years). The mean duration of otorrhoea was 161.7 weeks (range 4 -572 weeks). Nine patients (10.5%) presented with coalescent mastoiditis and/or intracranial complications of CSOM. Of the 153 organisms identified, Gram-negative bacteria were present in 93 (82.3%) ears, with 94.8% of these being sensitive to quinolones. Only 1 case of tuberculous otitis media was identified. HIV infection was present in 54.6% of patients tested. There was a hearing loss in 44 (66.7%) of the tested affected ears. Conclusions. There was a long delay between the onset of symptoms and accessing ENT services. Most cases of CSOM were due to quinolone-sensitive Gram-negative aerobes. There was a high prevalence of cholesteatoma, hearing loss and other complications in children in this study.

Objective: To identify and describe predictors of pediatric cochlear implantation outcomes in a South African population. Methods:A retrospective study of 301 pediatric CI recipients from five cochlear implant programs was conducted and cross-sectional outcome data were added at the time of data collection. Twenty potential prognostic factors were identified from the retrospective dataset, including biographical, cochlear implant (CI), family and risk factors. Multiple regression analyses was performed to identify predictor variables that influence outcomes in terms of auditory performance (CAP scores), speech production (SIR scores), communication mode and educational placement.Results: Although implanted children within this sample did not have equal opportunity to access a second implant, bilateral implantation was strongly predictive of better auditory performance and speech production scores, an oral mode of communication and mainstream education. NICU admittance/ prematurity were associated with poorer auditory performance and speech production scores, together with a higher probability for non-oral communication and non-mainstream education. The presence of one or more additional developmental 2 condition was predictive of poorer outcomes in terms of speech production and educational placement, while a delay between diagnosis and implantation of more than one year was also related to non-mainstream education. Ethnicities other than Caucasian were predictive of poorer auditory performance scores and a lower probability for mainstream education.Conclusion: An extensive range of prognostic indicators were identified for pediatric CI outcomes in South Africa. These predictive factors of better and poorer outcomes should guide pediatric CI services to promote optimal outcomes and assist professionals in providing evidence-based informational counselling.

A range of significant prognostic indicators were identified for HRQoL outcomes in adult CI recipients. These predictors of HRQoL outcomes can guide intervention services' informational counselling.

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A high percentage of children with CSOM have associated pathology that needs to be diagnosed to optimally manage CSOM.