Pattern of pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat diseases at Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital, Ndola, Zambia

Abstract

Background: Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) disorders are very common in children mainly due to increased number of risk factors for these disorders in our environment. However, there is a lack of data on paediatric ENT disorders from Zambian population. This study aimed at determining the pattern of common paediatric ENT diseases and their relationship with socio-demographic factors in a tertiary hospital, Arthur Davison Children's Hospital (ADCH), in Ndola Zambia. Method: This was a retrospective hospital-based descriptive study involving review of medical records of patients' aged0-14 years who presented to the ENT outpatient clinic of ADCH with various ENT disorders from January 2014 to December 2015.Results: Within the study period, a total of 988 children were seen. ENT diseases were found to be more common among male children (52.8%), the female to male ratio is1:1.12.There was no significant difference in age groups. Ear disorders (47.1%) were found to be the commonest group of ENT problems, followed by pharyngeal disorders (40.1%) and nasal disorders (12.8%). The most common otologic disorder was Earwax obstructing the tympanic membrane (28.8%).Among rhinologic disorders, Nasal Foreign Bodies (27.0%) were the commonest while Tonsillitis (42.8%) was the commonest Pharyngeal disorder. There were more patients in lower socio-economic classes than in the upper classes. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the broad spectrum of ENT disorders as observed at ADCH over a period of 2 years. Improvement of health education, socio-economic status and health facilities will be helpful in reducing the frequency of ENT diseases.