The prevalence of ENT disorders in pre‐school children with Down Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction. Guidelines for children with Down syndrome suggest hearing testing at birth, then annually until school entry, followed by checks every 2 years. For some time, the departments of Audiology and Educational Audiology have run a hearing surveillance clinic for all children with Down Syndrome in Greater Glasgow. Since September 2004, an ENT consultant has attended these clinics. A prospective record of the ENT health of children in Greater Glasgow with Down syndrome has been kept for 3 years. We present prevalence data for ENT problems between 1 and 6 years of age. Method. Data were extracted from the database for the presence of otitis media with effusion (OME) and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) for every clinic visit. Results. There were 76 children with Down syndrome in Greater Glasgow, aged 9 months‐6 years. 42 were female, 34 male. Of these, 70 were seen at the clinic at least once (92%). 25 (36%) underwent ENT surgery during the study period. The prevalence of OME (based on otoscopy, tympanometry and age‐appropriate audiometry) ranged from 92% at age 1 to 73% at age 5‐6. SDB was most prevalent at age 2 (44%). Other ENT diagnoses were subglottic stenosis (2), laryngomalacia (1) and congenital muscular torticollis (1). None had sensorineural hearing impairment. Conclusion. ENT disorders are very common in preschool children with Down syndrome. It is likely that they will have a significant impact on development for some children. Further research is required to determine whether our intensive approach to surveillance and intervention will improve outcomes.