Combat Sports Special Issue 2, Research article - (2007)06, 39 - 44
Cauliflower Ear and Skin Infections among Wrestlers in Tehran
Ramin Kordi1,, Mohammad Ali Mansournia1, Roh Allah Nourian1, W. Angus Wallace2
1Sports Medicine Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
2Centre for Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic and Accident Surgery, The University of Nottingham, UK

Ramin Kordi
✉ Sports Medicine Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Email: Ramin_kordi@tums.ac.ir
Received: 01-12-2006 -- Accepted: 03-09-2007
Published (online): 01-10-2007

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to describe the magnitude of the selected sports medicine problems (i.e. cauliflower ear and skin infections) among wrestlers in Tehran. A number of 411 wrestlers were randomly selected from wrestling clubs in Tehran employing cluster sample setting method. The participants were interviewed using a specially designed and validated questionnaire. Nearly half of the participants (44%) had “cauliflower ears”. Only 23% of these participants had received any kind of treatment for their acute ear haematomas that are known to result in “cauliflower ears”. The prevalence of reported hearing loss among participants with cauliflower ears (11.5%, 95%CI: 6.9 to 16.2) was significantly more than this prevalence among those participants without cauliflower ears (1.8%, 95%CI: 0.1 to 3.5) (p < 0.05). More than half of the participants (52%) had skin infection diagnosed by a physician during the previous year. This study has identified evidence of an increase in hearing loss as a possible side effect of either cauliflower ear or ear injury in wrestling in Iran. There has been an outbreak of ringworm and there is a significant potential for an outbreak of impetigo among wrestlers in Tehran.

Key words: Wrestling, cauliflower ears, skin infections

Key Points
  • Skin infections are prevalent among wrestlers in Tehran.
  • Commonly wrestlers in Tehran continue to carry out wrestling training while affected by skin infections.
  • Cauliflower ear ”is common among wrestlers in Tehran.
  • More research is needed to investigate hearing loss as a possible side effect of either cauliflower ear or ear injury in wrestling in Iran.








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