Introduction and objective:

Otorhinolaryngology pathology has a high incidence in acute and chronic conditions in the ENT outpatient clinic, despite this; there are no accurate, reliable and standardized statistical data on the epidemiological profile of ambulatory otology pathologies in our setting. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical, epidemiological, treatment and follow-up characteristics of the three outpatient otological pathologies frequently diagnosed in the otorhinolaryngological consultation in our region.

Method:

A retrospective observational study was carried out in 312 patients with otological pathologies; the variables studied were processed through the IBM-SPSS® statistical program, applying a descriptive statistical technique.

Results:

The three most frequent outpatient diagnoses were: chronic otitis media in 60.6 %, predominated in women with 44 %; 12.8 % presbycusis, in which there was no sex distinction and 12.17 % otomycosis affecting women in 65.7 %. They had a higher prevalence in people older than 51 years, from the urban area, without any professional training, manifesting as hearing loss, otorrhea, otalgia and otic pruritus, referred in isolation or in combination. It was evident that otomicroscopy, impedanciometry and liminal tone audiometry were the main otological techniques performed for the diagnosis. Pharmacological treatment in infectious processes was oral and otic ciprofloxacin, oral fluconazole associated clotrimazole or clioquinol otic, the prescription of loratadine was observed in 91.5 % of patients with OMC, 40 % in patients with presbycusis and 73.6 % in patients with otomycosis. The main clinical complications were found in patients with OMC after a second evaluation, which were facial paralysis 2.1 % and acquired cholesteatoma associated with chronic otomastoiditis in 0.96 %.

Discussion:

The prevalence and involvement in terms of sex due to OMC, presbycusis and otomycosis disagrees with that obtained in other investigations although its prevalence with respect to age is similar to that reported by other researchers. Complementary diagnostic and treatment techniques are aligned with that described in the literature, despite this; the prescription of antihistamine was identified. Which was not based on the clinical record, it was observed that the use of topical antibiotics in combination orally was not entirely effective in avoiding flare-ups.

Conclusions:

The most frequent diagnoses were OMC, presbycusis and otomicosis they prevailed in women between the fifth decade of life. The diagnostic and therapeutic treatment of ambulatory pathologies of infectious etiology coincides with the literature, except for the prescription of antihistamines, which was common in the population group, and it was also identified that the significant use of oral antibiotics, beyond topical therapy, It is not entirely effective in preventing recurrences and complications.

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