Hazardous complications of animate foreign bodies in otology practice

Animate foreign bodies in the ear are frequent occurrences in otology practice. Such foreign bodies may lead to hazardous complications. This paper describes a retrospective study of six patients with a recent history of an insect in the ear who presented with various complications following interve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of laryngology and otology 2015-06, Vol.129 (6), p.540-543
Main Authors: Sikka, K, Agrawal, R, Devraja, K, Lodha, J V, Thakar, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Allergies
Animals
Antibiotics
Child
Ear Canal - injuries
Ear diseases
Facial Paralysis - diagnosis
Facial Paralysis - etiology
Female
Foreign Bodies - complications
Foreign Bodies - diagnosis
Foreign Bodies - surgery
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - diagnosis
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - etiology
Humans
Insecta
Insects
Main Articles
Male
Middle Aged
Otologic Surgical Procedures - methods
Otology
Patients
Retrospective Studies
Tetanus
Thrombosis
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Vertigo
Young Adult
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:Animate foreign bodies in the ear are frequent occurrences in otology practice. Such foreign bodies may lead to hazardous complications. This paper describes a retrospective study of six patients with a recent history of an insect in the ear who presented with various complications following intervention received elsewhere. An insect was retrieved from the external auditory canal in four cases and from the antrum in two cases. The patients presented with progressive otological complications: two patients who presented with orbital apex syndrome and cavernous sinus thrombosis succumbed to the disease; three patients suffered sensorineural hearing loss; and two patients had persistent facial palsy. One patient with sigmoid sinus thrombosis, who presented early, experienced complete recovery. Insects in the ear can lead to hazardous complications. Animate foreign bodies should preferably be managed by a trained otologist, even in an emergency setting. Patients with delayed presentation and complications have a guarded prognosis.
ISSN:0022-2151
1748-5460
DOI:10.1017/S0022215115000961