International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | September 2022 | Vol 8 | Issue 9 Page 711 International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Khan TM et al. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Sep;8(9):711-715 http://www.ijorl.com pISSN 2454-5929 | eISSN 2454-5937 Original Research Article Risk factors of acute otitis media among infants in a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi: a descriptive cross-sectional study Tayyab Mumtaz Khan 1 *, Jehanzeb Akram 2 , Fahad Muneer 2 , Daniyal Ilyas 2 , Hafiz Muhammad Ahmed 2 , Asghar Khan 2 , Muhammad Ahsan Naeem 3 , Umair Hafeez 2 , Fareena Nawab 3 , Muhammad Waleed Nasir 2 INTRODUCTION Acute otitis media (AOM) is a disease of the ear in which inflammation of the middle ear occurs. It could be asymptomatic, or it could present with acute onset of symptoms and signs. Its symptoms vary with the age of children as in younger children, it presents with some general symptoms which include fever, poor feeding, excessive crying, and irritability along with rubbing, tugging, or pulling affected ear, while, in older children, it presents with specific symptoms like earache, discharge from ear, and fever. Its signs comprised of cloudy, dark, or yellow tympanic membrane. Its diagnosis is made by an otorhinolaryngologist by clinical history and otoscopy and tympanometry of the ear. 1,2 ABSTRACT Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the second most common disease of childhood. Many factors play role in the causation of AOM. However, the research-based data on risk factors for AOM in infants is still inadequate. Objective were this study aimed to determine the risk factors for AOM in infants with AOM. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 189 infant patients with AOM in the otorhinolaryngology outpatient department of allied hospital of Rawalpindi medical university, Rawalpindi. Established inclusion and exclusion criteria and non-probability convenience sampling technique were utilized for the selection of patients. After taking informed consent, data were collected through a self-adapted questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was accomplished through SPSS version 25. Results: AOM was more common among patients who had, an age group with a range of 9-12 months (41.28%), male gender (55.02%), lower birth order (49.73%), mothers with illiterate educational status (53.96%), mothers with the job (57.14%), lower socioeconomic status (59.25%), used bottle-feeding (46.56%), supine position during feeding (61.37%), used a pacifier (67.73%), poor feeding hygiene (58.21%), unvaccinated pneumococcal status (57.15%), and large family (63.50%). In the case of family ear infection and passive smoking, AOM incidence was more frequent among infants whose family had no history of ear infection (69.85%) and no smoking exposure (53.44%). Conclusions: In short, the age group with a range of 9-12 months, male gender, low birth order, illiterate mothers, mothers with the job, lower socioeconomic status, bottle-feeding, supine feeding position, pacifier use, poor feeding hygiene, unvaccinated pneumococcal status, and large family size, all raise the risk of AOM incidence in infants. Keywords: AOM, Risk factors, Infant, Tertiary care, Hospital, Rawalpindi, Descriptive, Cross-sectional 1 Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 2 Punjab Rangers Teaching Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan 3 Rahbar Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan Received: 16 July 2022 Revised: 12 August 2022 Accepted: 17 August 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Tayyab Mumtaz Khan, E-mail: tayyab.mkhan98@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20222161