Post Blast Tympanic Perforations, Clinical and Paraclinical Study at Six Yaounde Hospitals

Abstract

Introduction: Post-blast tympanic perforations represent an entity of traumatic perforations; various mechanisms are at the origin of the latter, and the increase in conflicts and acts of violence are increasing the studies on this subject, but few data are available in our context. Objective: This paper aims to study post-blast tympanic perforations in Yaounde, specifically the epidemiological, clinical, and paraclinical aspects. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study with retrospective and prospective data collection in six Yaounde hospitals over 63 months from January 1, 2018, to March 31, 2023. All patients with at least one post-blast tympanic perforation were included. Socio-demographic, clinical and paraclinical data were collected on a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 28 software. Results: We included 124 patients. The prevalence of post-blast tympanic perforations was 0.1% of the consultations in the departments. 71 The average age was 28.6 ± 9.1 years, with extremes ranging from 7 to 49 years. The median consultation time was five days. The most frequent injury circumstances were physical aggression (81.45%) and armed conflict (10.5%). The injury mechanisms were slaps (75%), punches (21.74%) and grenades (4.8%). The main symptoms on admission were hearing loss (63.7%), tinnitus (58.1%) and otalgia (57.3%). The tympanic perforations were unilateral in all cases, the anterior-inferior location was more characteristic, and the deafness was conductive in 58.3% of cases, followed by mixed deafness in 23.3% of cases. Conclusion: Post-blast tympanic perforations are rare in consultation. The population is primarily male and from the second decade of life. The main circumstance is aggression.