Otogenic Meningitis: A Comparison of Diagnostic Performance of Surgery and Radiology

Group A Streptococcal meningitis in children: a short case series and systematic review

BACKGROUND

Group A streptococcal(GAS) meningitis is a severe disease with a high case fatality rate. In the era of increasing GAS meningitis, our understanding about this disease is limited.

PURPOSE

To gain a better understanding about GAS meningitis.

METHODS

Five new cases with GAS meningitis were reported. GAS meningitis related literatures were searched for systematic review in PUBMED and EMBASE. Case reports and case series on paediatric cases were included. Information on demographics, risk factors, symptoms, treatments, outcomes, and emm types of GAS was summarized.

RESULTS

Totally 263 cases were included. Among 100 individuals, 9.9% (8/81) had prior varicella, 11.1% (9/81) had anatomical factors, and 53.2% (42/79) had extracranial infections. Soft tissue infections were common among infants (10/29, 34.5%), while ear/sinus infections were more prevalent in children ≥ 3 years (21/42, 50.0%). The overall case fatality rate (CFR) was 16.2% (12/74). High risk of death was found in patients with shock or systemic complications, young children(< 3 years) and cases related to hematogenic spread. The predominate cause of death was shock(6/8). Among the 163 patients included in case series studies, ear/sinus infections ranged from 21.4 to 62.5%, while STSS/shock ranged from 12.5 to 35.7%, and the CFR ranged from 5.9 to 42.9%.

CONCLUSIONS

A history of varicella, soft tissue infections, parameningeal infections and CSF leaks are important clinical clues to GAS in children with meningitis. Young children and hematogenic spread related cases need to be closely monitored for shock due to the high risk of death.

Imaging of Pathologies of the Temporal Bone and Middle Ear: Inflammatory Diseases, Their Mimics and Potential Complications-Pictorial Review

Imaging of the temporal bone and middle ear is challenging for radiologists due to the abundance of distinct anatomical structures and the plethora of possible pathologies. The basis for a precise diagnosis is knowledge of the underlying anatomy as well as the clinical presentation and the individual patient's otological status. In this article, we aimed to summarize the most common inflammatory lesions of the temporal bone and middle ear, describe their specific imaging characteristics, and highlight their differential diagnoses. First, we introduce anatomical and imaging fundamentals. Additionally, a point-to-point comparison of the radiological and histological features of the wide spectrum of inflammatory diseases of the temporal bone and middle ear in context with a review of the current literature and current trends is given.

Thrombosis of sigmoid sinus, transverse sinus, and internal jugular vein in chronic otitis media in 9-year-old girl: a case report

Introduction and importance

Chronic otitis media can lead to dreadful intracranial complications, the most common being meningitis. A concomitant finding of thrombosis in more than one sinus with a cerebral vein is extremely rare. Septic sigmoid sinus thrombosis has an infectious origin and the treatment is debatable between antibiotics and surgery.

Case presentation

A case of 9-year-old female with prolonged symptoms of right sided ear discharge, fever, right sided neck pain, and vomiting. Examination revealed tachycardia and neck rigidity suggesting meningitis. The child developed shock, generalized seizure, and a persistent high grade fever in the course of hospital stay. Brain imaging revealed sigmoid, transverse, and internal jugular thrombosis. Blood culture grew both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, suggesting the infectious origin of the thrombus. The authors treated meningitis with cephalosporin and vancomycin at first, and then additional antibiotics to treat the septic sigmoid sinus thrombosis.

Clinical discussion

Sigmoid sinus thrombosis is a rare condition caused by infections, thrombophilia, head trauma, some types of cancer, and intravenous drug use. Cerebral vein or sinus thrombosis can lead to raised intracranial pressure and can cause fever, otalgia, headache, vomiting, cranial nerve palsies, papilledema altered mental status and may cause seizures, stupor, and coma. Prompt diagnosis by CT scan or MRI and prompt treatment with antibiotics are crucial.

Conclusion

Sigmoid sinus thrombosis with involvement of the transverse sinus and internal jugular vein is a rare complication of chronic otitis media, and should be suspected if a recurring fever with features of raised intracranial pressure is present in a child with chronic otitis media.

Cholesteatoma Classification: Review of Literature and Proposed Indian Classification System—TAMPFIC

Classification systems provides a tool for segregating cases based on their similarities. It can be used by healthcare professionals for representation, comparison, communication, discussion and for standardizing treatment protocols across the geographical boundaries. Cholesteatoma is prevalent in developed as well as developing nations posing a great burden on economic and health sector. Even though systems for classification of cholesteatoma are already being used in some places, however none of them is yet universally accepted due to their complex nature. After a thorough review of the most popular systems, we attempt to propose an Indian classification system for cholesteatoma "TAMPFIC". The system is based on clinical representations and will allow us to standardize the reporting of the disease and its extension along with all possible complications in a simple and unique way and will also help in reporting surgical outcomes for the same. Reporting of surgical outcomes will not only help in comparison but will also help in standardizing treatment protocols for similar kind of cases in future. It will require multi centric approach for validating our system to reach a common consensus for defining treatment protocols. We hope this system acquires universal acceptance and presents itself as a single new tool for classification of cholesteatoma with international consensus in near future.

Burden of pneumococcal disease among adults in Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece): a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim was to summarize pneumococcal disease burden data among adults in Southern Europe and the potential impact of vaccines on epidemiology. Of 4779 identified studies, 272 were selected. Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence was 15.08 (95% CI 11.01-20.65) in Spain versus 2.56 (95% CI 1.54-4.24) per 100,000 population in Italy. Pneumococcal pneumonia incidence was 19.59 (95% CI 10.74-35.74) in Spain versus 2.19 (95% CI 1.36-3.54) per 100,000 population in Italy. Analysis of IPD incidence in Spain comparing pre-and post- PCV7 and PCV13 periods unveiled a declining trend in vaccine-type IPD incidence (larger and statistically significant for the elderly), suggesting indirect effects of childhood vaccination programme. Data from Portugal, Greece and, to a lesser extent, Italy were sparse, thus improved surveillance is needed. Pneumococcal vaccination uptake, particularly among the elderly and adults with chronic and immunosuppressing conditions, should be improved, including shift to a higher-valency pneumococcal conjugate vaccine when available.

Computational Optimization of Notch Spacing for a Transnasal Ear Endoscopy Continuum Robot

This paper presents a computational framework to optimize the visual coverage attainable by a notched-tube continuum robotic endoscope inside the middle ear cavity. Our framework combines anatomically-accurate geometric (mesh) models of the middle ear with a sampling-based motion planning algorithm (RRT) and a ray-casting procedure to quantify what regions of the middle ear can be accessed and visualized by the endoscope. To demonstrate the use of this framework, we run computer simulations to investigate the effect of varying the distance between each pair of consecutive flexure elements (i.e., notches) in our robotic endoscope.

Epidural Abscess and Sigmoid Sinus Thrombosis as Intracranial Complications of the Middle Ear Cholesteatoma

The otogenic intracranial complications are rare manifestations in modern era of antibiotics. An early antibiotic therapy often covers typical clinical signs and symptoms for each complication. A sigmoid sinus thrombosis is often associated with other intracranial complications, as in this case, an epidural abscess. We are presenting a case of 12-year-old girl with the sigmoid sinus thrombosis and epidural abscess as complications of chronic infection to the middle ear with cholesteatoma. In the active phase of chronic inflammation of the middle ear she was treated with the antibiotic therapy that covered early symptoms of intracranial complication development. A humid attic perforation of the tympanic membrane with protrusion of choleastoma and evident signs of bony wall destruction to the external auditory canal was noticed by performing routine otomicroscopy and otoendoscopic examination. Assuming intracranial complication, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the endocranium was undertaken. The MRI showed inflammatory changes of both middle ears with intracranial complications: the right sigmoid sinus thrombosis and epidural abscess of the same side. During the surgery we have noticed an extensive middle ear cholesteatoma with significant destruction of the bony tissue and purulent collection between sigmoid sinus changed with granulation and respective dural segment of the posterior cranial cavity.

Timely diagnosis, multidisciplinary approach with an adequate choice of the antibiotic therapy and surgical technique have a crucial prognostic significance.