Abstract
Background: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common condition of the middle ear in children characterized by accumulation of fluid without acute symptoms or signs of infection causing hearing impairment. Tympanometry is a reliable diagnostic tool that has the capability of indirectly detecting fluid collection in the middle ear. Pneumatic otoscopy similarly has this capability to a lesser degree. Both tools have been demonstrated to be reliable. Aim and Objective: To compare pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry in the diagnosis of OME. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional community-based study. Ten schools from the two Local Government Areas of Sokoto metropolis were randomly selected comprising Private and Public nursery and primary school pupils between the ages of four and seven years. Pneumatic otoscopy was done in each ear followed by tympanometry. The data was collated and analyzed using a statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: Pneumatic otoscopy correctly predicted normal mobility in 394 out of 399 ears identified to have type A or C1 tympanogram and impaired mobility in 52 out of 61 ears with either B or C2 with sensitivity of 85.3% and specificity of 98.3%. Conclusion: When compared with tympanometry, pneumatic otoscopy has a sensitivity of 85.3% and specificity of 98.7% in predicting the tympanogram type. This represents a fairly good agreement between tympanometry and pneumatic otoscopy in the diagnosis of OME.