- NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Glue ear, a type of middle ear
infection common in young children and characterized by the build-up of
sticky fluid, may be a result of acid reflux, which occurs when stomach
acid backs up into the esophagus, a new report from the UK indicates.
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- Glue ear, medically known as otitis media
with effusion, affects about 20% of 2-year-olds and is a leading cause
of hearing loss in young children. Although the condition often clears
up on its own, antibiotics are usually prescribed and in some cases, drainage
tubes are inserted into the ear.
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- "This study is interesting...because
it makes parents aware that there may be another significant cause of glue
ear, (such as the) reflux of gastric contents," said lead author Andrea
Tasker of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, during an interview with
Reuters Health.
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- As a result, Tasker and her team believe
that anti-reflux treatment may prevent glue ear.
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- Many parents may be unaware of the fact
that children do sometimes have reflux, Tasker noted. Reflux from the throat
area to the ear is possible due to the angle of the immature eustachian
tube in infants and children, and also because infants are often in a horizontal
position, she explained.
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- "Due to the low pH of the 'refluxate,'
damage would be caused to the eustachian tube and the middle ear mucosa
causing inflammation," she said. "This damaged state would be
ideal conditions for (bacterial growth) and lead to the symptoms seen in
glue ear."
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- In their investigation, Tasker's team
evaluated ear fluid samples from 54 children between the ages of 2 and
8 with glue ear who were undergoing ear surgery.
-
- Analysis of the fluid revealed that 45,
or 83%, of the samples tested positive for pepsin, or its precursor, pepsinogen,
at up to 1,000 times the concentration found in surrounding bodily fluids.
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- "To confirm the source of pepsin,
other components of gastric juice...could be measured in the (ear fluid),"
they write in the February 9th issue of The Lancet.
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- Tasker suggests that anti-reflux therapy,
like antacids that reduce acidity of gastric juice and the activity of
the pepsin protein by targeting the stomach, could be used to prevent glue
ear.
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- SOURCE: The Lancet 2002;359:493.
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- Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited.
All rights reserved.
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