Upper respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis. Ear-nose-throat survey of 50 children.

Upper respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis: ear-nose-throat survey of 50 children. An ear-nose-throat survey was carried out on 50 children aged 4 to 10 years with cystic fibrosis. 10% were shown to be transiently deaf, associated with eustachian tube dysfunction. There were no confirmed cases of secretory otitis media. 10 children (20%) were found to have nasal polyps or gave a history of polypectomy. Though a high incidence of middle ear problems in children with cystic fibrosis has been reported from the U.S.A., neither deafness nor secretory otitis media was found to be a problem in the group studied. The upper respiratory tract, as well as the lower, is often abnormal in many children with cystic fibrosis (CF). They seem to have obstructive nasal symptoms more frequently than normal children, and nasal polyps, otherwise rare in childhood, are not infrequently found in CF. The respiratory tract is abnormally liable to infection and though there is no direct evidence of abnormal mucus in CF, the mucosal secretions seem abnormally sticky. Children with CF might be expected to have a higher than usual incidence of middle ear problems.