PREVALENCE OF TONSILITIS AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS VISITING THE ENT DEPARTMENT FROM AUGUST 2017- JANUARY 2018

Abstract

Abstract Background: Ear, nose and throat conditions are among the most common problems patients visit the hospital seeking for treatment. Acute tonsillitis is on the top of the list of ENT visit, especially among children. The intent of this work was to see the extent of the prevalence of how much of the ENT visit is by tonsillitis patients and if there are any clinical and demographic factors affecting the prevalence and quality of life among those treated for tonsillitis. Objective: The main objective of this study is to review the prevalence of tonsillitis patients and common associated factors linked with tonsillitis among those patients visiting the ENT department from August 2017- January 2018. Methods and materials: The source population for this study is all the individuals visiting the ENT OPD from August 2017- January 2018, chart review of this study population was conducted and those diagnosed with acute tonsillitis were included. Those who were diagnosed with acute tonsillitis, we have seen which demographic and social factors predisposed them to have this diagnosis. After data is collected, it was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 statistical software. Multivariable logistic regression with 95% CI at P ≤ 0.05 was used to determine the associated factors related with tonsillitis patients. Finally, result was presented in text and graphs and communicated to all concerned bodies. Results: the prevalence of tonsilitis is found to be at 45.9% with 64.9% of them being below the age of 10 years and 84.5% of them were from urban area, most of them residing in Addis Ababa and Oromia region. There was strong association seen between being <10 years of age, living in urban area, and having a previous history of tonsillitis. Conclusion and recommendation: Tonsillopharyngitis is one of the major causes of patient’s visit to a hospital, especially of those aged <10 years. The major risk factors seen in the study is living in the urban area, being under the age of 10 and previous history of tonsillitis. Antibiotics was the major modality of pharmacotherapy, Penicillin is the choice of antibiotics in our set up. The tonsillectomy rate is much lower than most other countries. I recommend a prospective study in seeing the prevalence of GAS and resistance pattern by using throat culture samples since these parameters cannot be assessed by chart review.