title: Incidence and economic burden of acute otitis media in children aged up to 5years in three Middle Eastern countries and Pakistan: A multinational, retrospective, observational study.
abstract: Epidemiological data on acute otitis media (AOM), an infectious disease frequently affecting children, are lacking in some countries. This study was undertaken to assess the incidence of AOM in children ≤5years in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, and Turkey, as well as the economic burden from a parent/caregiver perspective. Medical records of 4043 children (Saudi Arabia=1023, Oman=998, Pakistan=1022, Turkey=1000) were retrospectively reviewed and the incidence of AOM episodes calculated from suspected and confirmed cases. Using a standardized Health Economics Questionnaire, parents recorded resource use and expenses incurred per AOM episode [in local currency and converted to US dollars (USD)]. The overall incidence of AOM episodes per 1000 person-years was: Saudi Arabia, 207 [95% confidence interval (CI): 178-238]; Oman, 105 (95% CI: 85-127); Pakistan, 138 (95% CI: 116-163); and Turkey, 99 (95% CI: 79-123). The mean total out-of-pocket healthcare expense incurred by parents/caregivers per episode was: Saudi Arabia USD67.1 [standard deviation (SD)=93.0], Oman USD16.1 (SD=16.4), Pakistan USD22.1 (SD=20.5), and Turkey USD33.6 (SD=44.9). The incidence of AOM episodes varied across all four countries, probably due to different diagnostic and management practices. Nevertheless, our results confirm that AOM causes a substantial burden to public health, reinforcing the need for cost-effective prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Mother & Child Care, Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Amal Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Al Aidaroos
authors.affiliation: Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Idris S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Al Abaidani
authors.affiliation: GSK, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kinga
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meszaros
authors.affiliation: GSK, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Kusuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gopala
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University Medical Faculty, Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceyhan
authors.affiliation: King Fahad Medical City, Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Tannir
authors.affiliation: GSK, Ciudad del Saber, Panama.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DeAntonio
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Directorate General of Health Affairs, Ministry of Health HQ, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Shyam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bawikar
authors.affiliation: GSK, Siena, Italy. Electronic address: johannes.e.schmidt@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Johannes E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009850:Oman / Q000453:epidemiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Acute otitis media; Economic burden; Incidence; Middle east