Tuberculous Otomastoiditis

Unusual presentation of bilateral tuberculous otomastoiditis with tuberculous spondylitis in a 14-year-old child: A case report

Tuberculous otomastoiditis, a rare manifestation of tuberculosis in the head and neck region, poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its non-specific clinical features and potential debilitating complications. While typically arising from direct spread from adjacent organs, the coexistence of tuberculous otomastoiditis and cervical spondylitis is rarely reported. We present the case of a 14-year-old male with a 3-month history of painless bilateral ear discharge resistant to antibiotic therapy. The clinical and radiological findings raised suspicions of tuberculous otomastoiditis and spondylitis, which was later confirmed by histopathological examination despite negative microbiological cultures. This case underscores the significance of considering tuberculosis in conditions involving multiple organs, especially when persistent extensive damage is observed despite optimal initial treatments.

Tuberculous Otitis Media With Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Rare and Challenging Diagnostic Case

Tuberculous otitis media is an uncommon cause of chronic suppurative infection affecting the middle ear and mastoid. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of tuberculous otitis media are very similar to those of non-tuberculous otitis media, which can make early diagnosis challenging. It is crucial to diagnose and treat the condition early to prevent damage to the ear and potential complications involving the central nervous system. We present a case of a 13-year-old Saudi girl who presented with a two-week history of headaches associated with photophobia. She had been complaining of ophthalmalgia, otalgia, and decreased hearing for one year. Physical examination revealed bilateral optic disc swelling with grade 3-4 papilledema, middle ear effusion, and bilateral hearing loss. CT scan showed sinusitis with right otomastoiditis and right petro-mastoiditis. MRI with magnetic resonance venography (MRV) revealed cerebral venous thrombosis. Tuberculosis screening by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of a sputum sample and right ear effusion sample taken by tympanocentesis was done and it came back positive three weeks later. She was started on anti-tuberculous treatment, with clinical improvement observed over six months. Multiple factors contributing to the delay in diagnosis possibly included the lack of awareness about this ailment among doctors, leading to a low suspicion rate, variable clinical presentation, and diagnostic pitfalls.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in middle ear: A case report

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a common disease in developing countries, among which middle ear TB is rare. Furthermore, it is relatively difficult to make an early diagnosis and provide follow-up treatment for middle ear TB. So, it is necessary to report this case for reference and further discussion.

Case presentation

We reported 1 case of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis otitis media. TB otitis media is rare in tuberculosis; multidrug-resistant TB otitis media is even more rare. Our paper analyzes the possible causes, imaging, molecular biology, pathology, and clinical manifestations of multidrug-resistant TB otitis media.

Conclusion

PCR and DNA molecular biology techniques are highly recommended for the early diagnosis of multidrug-resistant TB otitis media. Early, effective anti-tuberculosis treatment is the guarantee for further recovery for patients with multidrug-resistant TB otitis media.

Facial canal dehiscence, dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in middle ear cholesteatoma and mastoiditis

PURPOSE

To analyze the prevalence and associations of facial canal dehiscence (FCD), dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in chronic otitis media (COM) with and without cholesteatoma.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study performed in an academic medical center. Patients who received tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy for COM with and without cholesteatoma were included. The prevalence of FCD, dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in COM with and without cholesteatoma (mastoiditis) and their relationships were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 189 patients, including 107 (56.6%) females and 82 (43.4%) males, with 191 ears were included. There were 149 cases (78.0%) of cholesteatoma and 42 patients (22.0%) with mastoiditis. FCD was noted in 27.5% of patients with cholesteatoma and 9.5% of patients with mastoiditis. Dural exposure was found in 21 patients (14.1%) with cholesteatoma and 4 patients (9.5%) with mastoiditis. Eleven patients (7.4%) with cholesteatoma and 1 patient (2.4%) with mastoiditis had labyrinthine fistula. Patients with a labyrinthine fistula had nearly a fivefold greater chance (OR = 4.924, 95% CI = 1.355-17.896, p = 0.015) of having FCD than those without a fistula. There was a positive correlation between dural exposure and labyrinthine fistula (P = 0.011, Fisher's exact test).

CONCLUSION

FCD, dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula are common complications in COM. These complications are more frequently observed in patients with cholesteatoma than in patients with mastoiditis. Surgeons should pay more attention to the treatment of COM.

Aural tuberculosis at the start of the 21st century. Literature review according to SWiM guidelines. Part 2: Treatment

OBJECTIVES

Systematic review of the scientific literature dedicated to treatment modalities and results for aural tuberculosis published since the start of the 21^st century.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Search of the Medline, Cochrane and Embase databases for the period 2000 - 2020. Selection of articles in English, French and Spanish devoted to clinical cases and series documenting treatment of auricular tuberculosis. Extraction of data on pre-established files documenting treatment modalities and results. Reading of articles by two authors. Analysis performed according to SWiM guidelines, evaluating cure, tuberculosis-related death, treatment-related complications, improvement in facial palsy, and hearing sequelae rates.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty eight articles: 118 case reports (159 patients) and 10 cohorts (177 patients) from 42 countries were analyzed. Female/male sex ratio was 1.2 with ages ranging from 1 month to 87 years. Medical treatment consisted in 5 to 24 months' antitubercular antibiotic treatment using 2 to 8 antibiotics. Mastoidectomy, tympanoplasty and facial nerve decompression were associated to medical treatment in 64.7%, 17.4% and 6.2% of cases, respectively. Overall rates of cure, death, treatment-related complications, facial sequelae and hearing sequelae were 96.8%, 2%, 9.5%, 35.8% and 75.5%. In case reports, BCG vaccination did not appear to protect against facial palsy and severe intracranial complications (P>0.6). There was no significant correlation (P>0.3) between death and the clinical variables tested, and facial nerve decompression did not appear to influence outcome for facial function (P=0.4).

CONCLUSION

Medical treatment is very effective but not without risk of death, complications and sequelae. It is the same as for pulmonary tuberculosis. Indications for and benefit of major auricular surgery during medical treatment deserve further studies.

Aural tuberculosis at the start of the 21st century. Literature review according to SWiM guidelines. Part 1: Clinical and diagnostic data

OBJECTIVES

Review of the scientific literature dedicated to clinical data and diagnosis modalities for aural tuberculosis published since the start of the 21st century.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Search of the Medline, Cochrane and Embase databases for the period 2000-2020. Selection of articles in English, French and Spanish devoted to clinical cases and series documenting clinical data and diagnosis for aural tuberculosis of articles by two authors. Analysis performed according to SWiM guidelines. Extraction of data on pre-established files documenting clinical and diagnostic data.

RESULTS

In total, 173 articles: 163 case reports (228 patients) and 10 cohorts (177 patients) from 49 countries were analyzed. Female/male sex ratio was 1.05, with ages ranging from less than 1 month to 87 years. Tuberculosis involved another site in 35.1% of cases. Aural involvement was bilateral in 19.7% of cases. Clinical presentation corresponded to otitis media (prior antibiotic treatment and auricular surgery in 41.4% and 10.1% of cases, respectively) without any pathognomonic symptoms or signs. Associated severe locoregional complications were seen in 32% of cases, with 23.2% and 13% incidence of peripheral facial palsy and severe intracranial complications, respectively. Time to diagnosis ranged from less than 1 month to 384 months, and was longer than 12 months in 26.5% of case reports, without significant correlation (P=0.29) with severe revelatory locoregional complications. Incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection ranged from 33.4% of documented cases in auricular secretions to 64.6% in polyps, granulomas, and/or biopsies. In the case reports, diagnosis with certainty was done in 58.3% of cases, while it was based on involvement of another site and on indirect criteria or positive clinical progression after treatment in the other 10.1% and 31.6%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Aural tuberculous must always be considered in case of unfavorable progression of otitis. Definitive diagnosis is based on multiple auricular sample sites, polymerase chain reaction, and γ interferon blood assay.

Tuberculous mastoiditis in a 2-month-old infant presenting with facial nerve palsy

We present a rare case of tuberculous mastoiditis in a 2-month-old infant. The patient presented with facial nerve palsy, fever and otorrhoea and was subsequently confirmed to have a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Mastoiditis was confirmed with a CT scan of the head, and gastric aspirate analysis with the Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Cepheid, USA) rapidly confirmed tuberculosis (TB), allowing prompt initiation of anti-TB therapy. The patient is now recovering, with the initial facial nerve palsy resolved.

Middle east tuberculosis in an immunocompromised patient: Case report and review of the literature

Tuberculosis is an airborne disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 15-20% cases of active disease extrapulmonary tuberculosis may occur, most commonly in the head and neck region. Tuberculous otitis media accounts for 0,1% of the total number of tuberculosis patients. This paper provides insight into current state of literature of tuberculous otitis media. It also includes the case of a 53-year-old patient with tuberculous otitis media. The patient had a liver transplantation and she showed an atypical manifestation of the disease including acute otitis media and coinfection with Achromobacter xylosoxidans. The paper describes in detail the methods of diagnosis and the infection treatment. Considering the polymorphic clinical presentation of tuberculous otitis media in cases with long lasting otorrhoea differential diagnosis should include an infection with Mycobacerium tuberculosis.

Facial Nerve Palsy Complicated by Masked Tuberculous Mastoiditis in a Recently Transplanted Patient

Mastoiditis is a complication of the medium otitis characterized by suppuration and destruction of the mastoid cells and the pyramid petrosa; its tuberculous etiology has decreased in the last 40 years. Paralysis resulting from mastoiditis is more common in children. The incidence of mastoiditis has risen, although there are no reports in the literature associated with renal transplants. A 37-year-old man developed paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve associated with tuberculous mastoiditis 71 days after living donor-related renal transplant while on immunosuppressive therapy. The mastoiditis diagnosis was clinical and radiologic, the axial tomography being the election examination. The paralysis of the facial nerve happens for the easy destruction of the bony capsule that involves it. When treated early with tuberculostatic drugs, surgical procedures can be avoided in patients with tuberculous etiology in a mastoiditis, especially in an immunocompromised patient.

Aerobic bacteria associated with chronic suppurative otitis media in Angola

Background

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is an important cause of hearing loss in children and constitutes a serious health problem globally with a strong association to resource-limited living conditions. Topical antibiotics combined with aural toilet is the first-hand treatment for CSOM but antimicrobial resistance and limited availability to antibiotics are obstacles in some areas. The goal of this study was to define aerobic pathogens associated with CSOM in Angola with the overall aim to provide a background for local treatment recommendations.

Methods

Samples from ear discharge and the nasopharynx were collected and cultured from 152 patients with ear discharge and perforation of the tympanic membrane. Identification of bacterial species was performed with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and pneumococci were serotyped using multiplex polymerase chain reactions. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done according to EUCAST.

Results

One hundred eighty-four samples from ear discharge and 151 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected and yielded 534 and 289 individual isolates, respectively. In all patients, correspondence rate of isolates from 2 ears in patients with bilateral disease was 27.3% and 9.3% comparing isolates from the nasopharynx and ear discharge, respectively. Proteus spp. (14.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.2%) and Enterococcus spp. (8.8%) were dominating pathogens isolated from ear discharge. A large part of the remaining species belonged to Enterobacteriaceae (23.5%). Pneumococci and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in approximately 10% of nasopharyngeal samples. Resistance rates to quinolones exceeded 10% among Enterobacteriaceae and was 30.8% in S. aureus, whereas 6.3% of P. aeruginosa were resistant.

Conclusions

The infection of the middle ear in CSOM is highly polymicrobial, and isolates found in nasopharynx do not correspond well with those found in ear discharge. Pathogens associated with CSOM in Angola are dominated by gram-negatives including Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa, while gram-positive enterococci also are common. Based on the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing topical quinolones would be the preferred antibiotic therapy of CSOM in Angola. Topical antiseptics such as aluminium acetate, acetic acid or boric acid, however, may be more feasible options due to a possibly emerging antimicrobial resistance.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40249-018-0422-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.