Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Malignant External Otitis.

OBJECTIVES: Malignant external otitis (MEO) is a potentially fatal infection of the external auditory canal, temporal bone, and skull base. Despite treatment with modern antibiotics, MEO can lead to skull base osteomyelitis. Until now, there have been few studies on the prognostic factors of MEO.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective study to identify prognostic factors of MEO, and a meta-analysis of other articles investigating MEO. On the basis of disease progression the 28 patients in our study were divided into 'controlled' and 'uncontrolled' groups, consisting of 12 and 16 patients, respectively. We identified three categories of prognostic factors: those related to patient, disease, and treatment. We compared these prognostic factors between the controlled and uncontrolled groups.

RESULTS: In our study, the duration of diabetes mellitus (DM), presence of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate), and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging findings influenced the prognosis of MEO. In contrast, prognosis was unrelated to age, gender, mean glucose level, hemoglobin A1c level, pathogen, comorbidity, or cranial nerve involvement. No factor related to treatment modality was correlated with prognosis, such as surgery, steroid therapy, or interval to the first appropriate treatment. Cranial nerve involvement has been proven to be associated with disease progression, but the relationship between cranial nerve involvement and the prognosis of MEO remains controversial. As a part of this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of cranial nerve involvement as a prognostic factor of MEO. We found that cranial nerve involvement has a statistically significant influence on the prognosis of MEO.

CONCLUSION: We found that glycemic control in diabetes mellitus, cranial nerve involvement, and the extent of disease determined from various imaging modalities influence the prognosis of MEO. We suggest that significant prognostic factors should be monitored to determine the prognosis of patients with MEO.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app