Vitamin D level in Egyptian children with otitis media with effusion

Abstract
Background
This prospective case-control study was conducted from June 2018 to October 2019 in a tertiary referral hospital to investigate the correlation between otitis media with effusion (OME) and serum vitamin D level in children. The study population included 50 children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and OME (group A) who underwent adenotonsillectomy with tympanostomy tubes insertion compared to 50 children free from any medical or surgical disease (control group). Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D was measured using electrochemiluminescence technique for both groups.

Results
The mean age in group A was 53.4 ± 9.2 months whereas in group B (control group) it was 65.0 ± 13.2 months (P <0.001). In group A, there were 29 (58 %) male children and 21 (42%) female children while in group B, there were 27 (54%) male children and 23 (46%) female children (P = 0.689). The mean vitamin D level in group A was 16.0 ± 6.1 ng/mL with a minimum of 7 ng/mL and a maximum of 32.10 ng/mL. In group B, the mean vitamin D level was 15.7 ± 5.3ng/mL with a minimum of 7.38 ng/mL and a maximum of 27.90 ng/mL. The statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the level of vitamin D level between both groups (P = 0.770).

Conclusion
In this study, the mean level of serum vitamin D was low in children suffering from OME with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and in children without any medical or surgical disease; however, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean serum level of vitamin D between both groups. Therefore, a further study on a larger sample is needed.