DETERMINANTS OF ACUTE OTITIS MEDIA IN INFANTS

Objectives:To describe the relationship of acute otitis media with mode of feeding (bottle-or breast-fed) and with different positions of infant during feeding. Study design: Case control study Subjects and methods:Babies aged up to 24 months (62 cases, 6 6 controls) were selected from the OPD of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi. The variables considered were the gender of the infant, m other’s educational level and occupation, mode of feeding and the different positions during feeding. SPSS version 11.5 was used for descriptive and inferential analysis. Results:There was a significant association of otitis media with lying position ofbaby during feeding (OR 37.7, 95 % CI 13.34-106.43, p< 0.001), bottle feeding (OR 3.0, 95%CI 1.43-6.25, p = 0.003), working mother (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.38-10.34, p = 0.007) and education of m other (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.01-4.24, p = 0.044).