Chronic Suppurative Otitis

Excerpt

Otitis media is one of the most common causes of fever as a presentation in the pediatric population. Chronic suppurative otitis media, also known as chronic otitis media, is a stage of ear disease in which there is an on-going chronic infection of the middle ear without an intact tympanic membrane. This disease is a chronic inflammation of the middle ear and mastoid cavity. The characteristic presentation is chronic or persistent otorrhoea over 2 to 6 weeks through a perforated tympanic membrane. The Eustachian tube plays an important role in this disease, and dysfunction of this tube is found in 70% of patients undergoing middle ear surgery. When dysfunction of the Eustachian tube occurs, the pressure equilibration in the middle ear is impaired, and the middle ear aeration is perturbed, resulting in the classic symptoms of chronic suppurative otitis media. Acquired hearing-loss is also characteristically found in patients with this condition and, if left untreated, can lead to further morbidity and mortality.