Investigation of urinary leukotriene E4 values in patients with chronic serous otitis media

Investigation of Urinary Leukotriene E4 Values in Patients with Chronic Serous Otitis Media Introduction and aim: CSOM (Chronic serous otitis media) is characterized by continuous discharge from the middle ear and perforation of the eardrum. CSOM has higher mortality and morbidity compared to other types of OM. Urinary LTE-4 is an inflammatory mediator that is found to be elevated in conditions such as unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, post-coronary artery bypass surgery, atopic dermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, the aim was to investigate the diagnostic value of urinary LTE-4 levels in the diagnosis of KSOM, which is believed to occur as a result of increased inflammation, and whether it can be used as a biomarker. Methods: The urine samples of children diagnosed with chronic serous otitis media who were unresponsive to medical treatment and planned for ventilation tube insertion and control group patients without chronic otitis media who were planned for surgery for another reason were collected in Eppendorf tubes and stored at -4 °C. Urinary LTE-4 levels were analyzed using the BT-LAB Human Leukotriene E4 Elisa kit (Cat. No: E1551Hu) in our hospital's biochemistry laboratory. Data of the patients were recorded in SPSS 22.0 software and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: In our study, the results of a total of 68 patients were analyzed. 34 patients were assigned to the study group, and 34 patients were assigned to the control group. When comparing the two groups, no significant differences were found in terms of factors such as parental smoking status, number of siblings, and attending daycare. However, a statistically significant higher incidence of otitis history in either the mother or father was found in the study group. In terms of urinary LTE-4 levels, the mean LTE-4 level in the study group was found to be 114.74±56.94 pg/mg, while in the control group it was 86.17±44.23 pg/mg (p: 0.024). In the ROC analysis, the threshold value was found to be 105.65 pg/mg, with a sensitivity of 61.8% and specificity of 61.8% (p: 0.031). Conclusions: In our study, while suggesting the potential diagnostic utility of LTE-4 in patients with KSOM, there are still significant challenges such as the limited number of patients, the influence of age and genetic variations on LTE-4 levels, and the difficulty and cost of measurement, which remain important problems to consider.