Abstract

Background:

Ear syringing is a clinical procedure mostly seen in ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinics.  It involves irrigating the external auditory canal with normal saline at body temperature.  The air of this study is to highlight the current trend in ear syringing in a tertiary health institution in Enugu, South East Nigeria.

Method:

This was a prospective study of all patients that were managed for ear syringing in the ENT clinic of Enugu State University of Sciences and Technology, Teaching Hospital Park Lane, Enugu over a period of one year (January to December 2019)

Result:

A total of 211 patients consisting of 97males and 120 females with M:F ratio of 1:1:3 were seen.  The ages of the patients ranged from below 1-85years. The indications for ear syringing were cerumen auris 142 patients (67.3%), Otomycosis 57 patients (27.7%) and foreign bodies in the ear (FB ear) 12patients (5.7%).  Ear syringing was done in the right ear (19.4%), left ear (24.6%) and both ear (55.9%).  Most of the syringing were done by the ENT trained nurses in the clinic.  No complication occurred during the period of study.

Conclusion:

Current trend in ear syringing in Enugu involves the use of economic ear syringe Kits, training and retraining of nurses in the ENT clinic and application of ceruminolytic agents prior to syringing.