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Evaluation of the Effect of Passive Smoking on Otitis Media in Children by an Objective Method: Urinary Cotinine Analysis
Author(s) -
Ilicali Ömer Cenker,
Keleş Nesil,
Dèger Kemal,
Sàgun Ömer Faik,
Güldíken Yahya
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-200101000-00028
Subject(s) - cotinine , urinalysis , medicine , otitis , tobacco smoke , passive smoking , effusion , prospective cohort study , pediatrics , nicotine , urine , surgery , environmental health
Objectives We aimed to determine objectively the effect of the passive smoking on otitis media with effusion (OME) and recurrent otitis media (ROM) by using the method of cotinine urinalysis. Study Design We designed a prospective case‐control study with follow‐up of the case group for 1 year after insertion of tympanostomy tubes to evaluate postoperative complications such as otorrhea and early e‐trusion (<6 months), in case a significant risk factor was found. Methods One hundred fourteen children between 3 and 8 years of age requiring tympanostomy tubes because of OME and ROM were chosen and compared with 40 age‐matched children. E‐posure to environmental tobacco smoke was assessed by cotinine urinalysis, which was performed by means of the radioimmunoassay method. Results In this study, 73.7% (84 of 114) of the children in the case group and 55.0% (22 of 40) of the children in the control group were found to be “e‐posed” ( P = .0461). This difference was statistically significant. Comparing the cotinine urinalysis results with parental smoking histories, 23.1% (9 of 39) of the children without parental smoking histories were “exposed” to tobacco smoke versus 84.3% (97 of 115) of the children with parental smoking histories (at least one person smoking). Conclusions Our results indicate that sidestream smoking increases the risk of OME and ROM. Legal regulations and guidelines must be established to protect children from passive smoking. Because cotinine urinalysis is a noninvasive and reliable method for the determination of passive smoking, it can be used for that purpose.