studying the serum as well as serous level of il-17 and il-23 in patients with serous otitis media

Serous otitis media with effusion (ome) is a middle ear inflammatory response to allergens and microbes which stimulate leukocytes to produce different inflammatory mediators after obstruction of eustachian tube. here, we investigated the levels of these mediators, il-17 and il-23, in serum and middle ear fluids of children with ome. 75 patients with otitis media and 75 age and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. il-17 and il-23 levels in serous secretion of the patients and their serum levels were measured in both groups by elisa. serum il-17 levels were significantly higher in the patients than controls (p=0.001). there was no significant difference between serum il-23 levels in patients and controls. patients’ serous levels of both cytokines of il-17 and il-23 were higher than those in serum according to different parameters of sex, age, and duration of the disease. this study shows an elevated presence of il-17 and il-23, as pro inflammatory cytokines, in ome. these finding may represent the contribution of such cytokines in the pathogenesis of ome. blocking such molecules may yield new non-surgical therapeutics.