title: Hearing loss in Angolan children with sickle-cell disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hearing loss and pneumococcal infections occur in children with sickle-cell disease (SCD). We assessed the prevalence of hearing loss and otological findings, especially otitis media, among children with SCD in Luanda, Angola.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed otorhinolaryngological examination, tympanometry and, at ages over 5 years, pure-tone audiometry, in 61 outpatients of the SCD clinic and 61 healthy controls in the Paediatric Hospital of Luanda.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bilateral hearing loss exceeding 25 dB occurred in nine (36%; median age 7.8 years) SCD children versus three (11%; P = 0.047) control children. The hearing loss in the SCD group was predominantly mild (26-40 dB), involved low- and speech-range frequencies, and was sex independent. Acute otitis media occurred in two (3%) children with SCD versus four (6%; P = 0.68) control children, chronic otitis in zero versus two (3%; P = 0.50), and middle-ear effusion in one versus one (2%; P > 0.99). We found no significant differences in the otological profiles of the study groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In sub-Saharan Africa, hearing screening of SCD children is a must at preschool age. The actual prevalence of otitis media and its role in the cause of hearing loss in children with SCD remain subjects for further research.
authors.affiliation: Helsinki University Central Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Helsinki, Finland. anni.taipale@fimnet.fi
authors.forename: Anni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taipale
authors.forename: Tuula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pelkonen
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bernardino
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peltola
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pitkäranta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000810:Angola / Q000453:epidemiology; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies