CLINICO-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH OTOSCLEROSIS IN NEPALESE POPULATION: A TERTIARY LEVEL HOSPITAL BASED STUDY

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the clinico-epidemiological profile of patients with otosclerosis in a tertiary care center of Nepal

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in the Department of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital(TUTH), Institute of Medicine (IOM).Patients with surgically confirmed otosclerosis who had undergone stapes surgery were included in the study. Patient details from hospital record section with documented age of onset, family history of otosclerosis, laterality of disease, ethnicity and geographical distribution within Nepal were used for the outcome measures.

Results: The age of onset of otosclerosis is commonly seen in adolescent and early adulthood. The incidence of unilateral and bilateral disease is 15.8% and 84.2% respectively. Higher prevalence was seen in women than men in the ratio of 1.4:1. A total of 19.7% of patients had positive family history.

Conclusion: Otosclerosis is an adult onset disease with nearly equal incidence in both females and males mostly affecting bilateral ears rather than unilateral and approximately one-fourth with positive family history in our setting.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Stapes surgery, Otosclerosis