Description of the hospital behavior of mastoiditis: rate of hospital discharges and stay between the years 2019-2022 in Chile

Abstract

Introduction: Mastoiditis is a bacterial infection of the mastoid bone that occurs as a consequence of acute otitis media. There are currently no studies that show the national hospital epidemiological reality of this pathology. Objective: Calculate the hospital discharge rate and identify the year, sex and age group with the highest rate of hospital discharge due to mastoiditis in the years 2019 to 2022 in Chile. Methodology: An observational and descriptive study was conducted, using data from hospital discharges due to mastoiditis in the years 2019 to 2022 in Chile (N=425), considering the variables years, sex and age group. Descriptive statistics and calculation of hospital discharge rate were applied. Results: The hospital discharge rate for mastoiditis was 0.6 per 100,000 population from 2019 to 2022. The highest hospital discharge rate corresponds to the male sex in the 0 to 4 years age range. A higher hospital discharge rate was observed in age groups younger than 15 years and an increase in those older than 65 years. Discussion and conclusion: The hospital discharge rate in Chile is similar to the worldwide incidence. During the pandemic, the hospital discharge rate decreased, probably due to the reconversion of hospital beds. Patients older than 65 years had a higher hospital discharge rate than the rest of the adult population. This work sought to contribute to the national epidemiology, together with encouraging the knowledge of this pathology in the population over 65 years of age.