[The influence of dead lymphocytes from middle ear secretion on the development of sensorineural hearing impairment associated with acute otitis media].

The objective of the present work was to estimate the number of lymphocytes in the middle ear secretion that had died as a result of apoptosis or necrosis in the patients presenting with acute otitis media and to elucidate the relationship between this phenomenon and the development of sensorineural impairment of hearing. The study included a total of 106 patients suffering from acute middle otitis allocated two groups. Group 1 was comprised of 75 (70.