Acute catarrhal otitis media in children under 5 years of age

Introduction: acute otitis media is defined as an infection of the middle ear and/or a mastoiditis infection with retrotympanic effusion. It´s one of the most common diseases attended in pediatric consultations and the first cause of antibiotic prescription in childhood. Objective: to describe the main clinical and epidemiological aspects of acute otitis media in patients under 5 years old admitted to the Pneumology Department at the Hospital Provincial Docente Pediátrico "Pepe Portilla", Pinar del Rio, in 2020. Method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 96 children less than 5 (as studied universe) were involved in the study with a diagnosis of catarrhal otitis media admitted to the Pneumology department during the aforementioned period. Variables such as age, sex, risk factors, clinical manifestations and antimicrobial treatment were collected from medical records. Results: the 47.7% of patients diagnosed with catarrhal otitis media were less than 1 year, and male sex was cleared predominant (60.4% vs. 39.6%). The most frequent risk factor was little or no breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life, present in 86.5% of the group studied. Fever was the most representative symptom (91.7%) and ceftriaxone the most prescribed antimicrobial medicine (54.2%). Conclusions: acute otitis media is a frequent reason for hospitalization in children under 2 years of age. Male children with little or no breastfeeding and a history of atopy are at increased risk.