Prevalence of otitis media with effusion in multicultural schools in Hong Kong

The prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in Asia has only been studied in a limited fashion. This preliminary study forms part of a larger study aiming to establish the prevalence of OME in Hong Kong. One hundred and seventy-seven children (from multicultural schools) between the ages of five and 6.03 years were screened for OME using otoscopy and tympanometry. Nine positive screens (5.1 per cent) were obtained for OME. Within this mixed ethnic group, Chinese children had a significantly lower point prevalence (1.3 per cent) than Caucasian children (9.5 per cent) (p<0.05). Although the point prevalence from this mixed ethnic group of children was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of local Chinese school children (1.95 per cent) by the same group of investigators, the point prevalence in the ethnic Chinese children was comparable. The reason for the lower prevalence of OME in the Chinese population needs further research.