Ear, nose and throat diseases in children can cause dangerous complications.

Boy PNĐ.K. (15 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City) was taken by his family to MEDLATEC Go Vap General Clinic for examination because of tinnitus and persistent hearing loss in both ears.

Previously, the child had suffered from acute rhinopharyngitis many times with symptoms of runny nose, stuffy nose, and recurrent phlegm, but the family only bought medicine to treat it at home without seeing a specialist.

People with sinusitis need to see a doctor and get treatment early and thoroughly to avoid prolonging the disease because sinusitis lasting more than 3 weeks can cause dangerous complications.

Through examination and paraclinical tests, doctors diagnosed the baby with chronic sinusitis with complications of bilateral otitis media with effusion, requiring surgical intervention to avoid serious consequences.

The child came to the ENT specialist at MEDLATEC Go Vap with tinnitus and hearing loss on both sides lasting about 2 weeks.

According to the family, about a month ago, the baby had symptoms of a green runny nose, mild nasal congestion, itchy nose, and sneezing. The family bought medicine to treat the baby at home for a week, and when the symptoms improved, they stopped taking the medicine.

However, the baby then began to have tinnitus and persistent hearing loss of unknown cause, so he was taken to the doctor. The results of the ENT endoscopy showed that there was a lot of cloudy pus in the baby's nasal cavity, congestion in both nasal turbinates, fluid in the palate, and fluid in both eardrums.

In addition, the tonsils and adenoids were both enlarged at grade III, a common sign in children with recurrent rhinopharyngitis. Based on the endoscopy results, the doctor diagnosed chronic pansinusitis with complications of bilateral otitis media with effusion.

To determine the extent of the disease and associated damage, the patient was ordered a CT scan of the sinuses. The results showed that all sinuses had mucosal edema, fluid accumulation, the ostium complex was blocked, and there was fluid in the middle ear and both mastoid sinuses.

Left nasal septum deviation, middle nasal turbinate with pneumothorax. Based on the Lund-Mackay scale, the doctor determined that the child had grade IV pansinusitis, the most severe level, with complications of secretory otitis media and bilateral mastoiditis.

Dr. Tran Minh Dung, an ENT specialist who directly examined K., said that the initial symptoms seemed simple, just a runny nose and a transient stuffy nose. Moreover, the patient came to the clinic mainly because of ear symptoms.

However, based on the history of previous sinus symptoms, the doctor thought of the complication of sinusitis and prescribed appropriate diagnostic methods.

In this case, simple medical treatment such as using antibiotics, anti-inflammatory corticosteroids, and rinsing the sinuses with saline will not be effective, so the doctor advised the family to have surgery to avoid future complications.

Normally, Lund-Mackay grade I-II pansinusitis only requires medical treatment, but grade III-IV sinusitis mostly requires surgery, especially when there are complications of otitis media with effusion due to sinusitis.

The baby needs to be treated medically 2 weeks in advance to reduce inflammation and swelling in the sinuses and middle ear, and to prepare for the upcoming surgery. If surgery is performed when the baby has acute inflammation, it can cause bleeding and dangerous complications. Medical treatment contributes to increasing the success rate of the surgery and limiting complications during the procedure, Dr. Dung shared.

According to doctors, pansinusitis is an inflammation that occurs simultaneously in two or more sinuses in the paranasal sinus system such as the frontal sinus, maxillary sinus, ethmoid sinus, and sphenoid sinus.

This is a more severe form of sinusitis due to the widespread damage, often appearing after the patient has acute sinusitis that is not completely treated or is caused by allergies, bacteria, viruses or fungi.

Symptoms of pansinusitis are often longer lasting and more severe than those of simple sinusitis, including nasal congestion, persistent runny nose (mucus or pus, often with a foul odor), headache, a feeling of heaviness in the forehead, around the eyes, and cheeks, which increases when bending the head, coughing most at night due to fluid running down the throat (postnasal drip), decreased or lost sense of smell, bad breath, and prolonged fatigue.

Sinusitis can cause inflammation to spread to neighboring organs such as the larynx, tonsils, eye sockets, nose... especially complications of otitis media.

If not treated promptly, secretory otitis media can progress to chronic otitis media, causing collapse and retraction of the eardrum, leading to hearing loss, tinnitus, and even dangerous complications such as facial paralysis, meningitis, and mastoiditis.

MSc. Tran Minh Dung recommends that people who do not have sinusitis should proactively prevent it by keeping their nose and sinuses warm, taking warm baths, avoiding cigarettes, dust, and allergens; eating lots of green vegetables and fruits and drinking enough 2-3 liters of water per day.

For people with sinusitis, it is necessary to see a doctor and get treatment early and thoroughly to avoid prolonging the disease because sinusitis lasting more than 3 weeks can cause dangerous complications.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/benh-ly-tai-mui-hong-o-tre-co-the-gay-ra-bien-chung-nguy-hiem-d346798.html