Otorhinolaryngological Manifestation of Pregnancy in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Centre.

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of our study is to assess the frequency and distribution of ENT symptoms according to trimesters in pregnancy and the effect of these symptoms on the living quality of pregnant women. Material and Methods: An observational prospective case control study performed in the department of Otorhinolaryngology, Family medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology in a specialist health institution in Nigeria. About 220 women were recruited from the ENT, family medicine and Antenatal clinic for the study and consist of 110 aged matched subject and control each after ethical approval. Assessment of ENT complaint and Examinations were carried out using a structured proforma for both subject and controls and compared the values and results presented in tables and figures Result: Age range for the subject were 17 - 43years with a mean age of 28.4±5.4 years and for the control age range is 19 – 43years with a mean age of 28.1 ±5.3 years. Thirty seven of the subject were in the first trimester, Thirty seven in the second trimester and thirty six in the third trimester. The commonest aural manifestations were otalgia and ear fullness, the commonest nasal manifestations were snoring epistaxis and facial hyperpigmentation while the commonest throat symptoms were Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, sore-throat and dysphagia. Conclusion: Snoring and epistaxis were the most common symptoms in the third trimester, followed by gastro-oesophageal reflux disease which was also found to be predominant in the first and second trimester. All the symptoms were found to increase with advancement in age of pregnancy except for hearing loss, hoarseness and facial weakness which are not statistically significant in our study.