[Atypical inflammation of the middle ear]

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.

[Hearing dynamics in acute traumatic perforation of the tympanic membrane after application of blood plasma enriched with platelet growth factors]

OBJECTIVE

The article considers the possibility of treating patients with acute traumatic perforation of the eardrum with a single application of blood plasma enriched with platelet-derived growth factors in the perforation area. As a result of the studies, it was found that the acceleration of its closure and the restoration of hearing.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 43 patients with unilateral acute PBP of various etiologies (Table 1). Patients were divided into 2 groups - the main - 24 patients (10 men and 14 women), the average age - 30±9.7 years and the control - 19 patients (9 men and 10 women), the average age - 26.5±6.37 years. The compared groups did not reliably differ in age, gender, frequency and severity of hearing impairment.

RESULTS

Analyzing the results, we can confidently talk about the beneficial effect of blood plasma enriched in platelet-derived growth factors on the speed, completeness of closure of traumatic perforation of the eardrum and the dynamics of restoration of auditory function. The use of blood plasma enriched with platelet growth factors led to a regular reduction in the time and increase in the frequency of cases of early closure of perforated eardrum, as well as improvement and restoration of auditory function according to the results of tonal threshold audiometry and otoacoustic emission in dynamics.

CONCLUSION

Being generally available even in outpatient practice, the method of a single application of blood plasma enriched with platelet growth factors in the area of perforation of the tympanic membrane can significantly accelerate the healing process of the tympanic membrane, while improving the quality of life of the patient.

[Clinical observation of a patient with bilateral tuberculous otitis media developing against the background of HIV infection]

The lesion of middle ear as a variant of clinical manifestation of secondary tuberculosis, according to international scientific literature, is a rare condition. However, in terms of real clinical practice, the proportion of this pathology should not be underestimated due to the wide spread of tuberculosis infection among the population of developing countries, including the Russian Federation. One of the risk factors for the systemic spread of mycobacterial flora is a concomitant HIV infection, which often acts as an opportunistic pathological agent for tuberculosis. The treatment of such a state is always challenging because of the high aggressiveness of bacteria and the low immunological resistance of the patient. This article presents a clinical case of bilateral tuberculosis otitis media, which was a manifestation of tuberculosis infection that developed on the background of HIV infection.