Otologic findings in a pediatric cohort with sickle cell disease.
OBJECTIVE
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has been associated with sickle cell disease (SCD) in older children and adults. Few studies have investigated this association in younger children.


METHODS
In a cohort of pediatric patients followed at our sickle cell clinic, with a mean age of 7.8 years, 154 audiograms were completed on 84 patients.


RESULTS
This produced 22 subjects with abnormal audiograms. Middle ear effusion was the etiology of 19 subjects' audiometric findings. Three children were found to have mild SNHL. None of the subjects had hearing loss of severity which would warrant amplification. The prevalence rate for SNHL in our cohort of pediatric patients was 3.5%.


CONCLUSIONS
This differs from past reports, and may reflect an age dependent prevalence of SNHL in this disease.
MacDonald
C B
CB
Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, Boston Medical Center, MA 02118-2393, USA.
Bauer
P W
PW
Cox
L C
LC
McMahon
L
L
D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence