Actinomycosis of the middle ear

To present the first case of middle-ear actinomycosis in the UK in the last 60 years. The diagnosis and management of actinomycosis of the middle ear is also presented, as well as a review of the recent literature. This paper reports the case of a nine-year-old girl who presented with recurrent otor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of laryngology and otology 2013-07, Vol.127 (7), p.712-715
Main Authors: Kullar, PJ, Yates, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actinomyces - isolation & purification
Actinomyces - pathogenicity
Actinomycosis - diagnosis
Actinomycosis - drug therapy
Actinomycosis - surgery
Amoxicillin - therapeutic use
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antibiotics
Child
Clinical Records
Colonies & territories
Ear diseases
Ear, Middle - microbiology
Ear, Middle - pathology
Ear, Middle - surgery
Ears & hearing
Family medical history
Female
Gram-positive bacteria
Humans
Male
Meningitis
Middle Aged
Mortality
Tomography
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To present the first case of middle-ear actinomycosis in the UK in the last 60 years. The diagnosis and management of actinomycosis of the middle ear is also presented, as well as a review of the recent literature. This paper reports the case of a nine-year-old girl who presented with recurrent otorrhoea caused by actinomycosis. Mastoid exploration with clearance of the infected tissue, in conjunction with six months amoxicillin, resulted in long-term disease remission. Histology revealed Gram-positive, silver avid (on Grocott staining) and diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff negative staining of colonies; this profile was in keeping with the characteristic 'sulphur granules' of actinomycosis. Actinomycosis of the middle ear and mastoid is rare, with less than 45 cases presented in the worldwide literature. This case confirms that the disease should be treated with full surgical clearance and long-term antibiotics.
ISSN:0022-2151
1748-5460
DOI:10.1017/S0022215113001230