Chronic ear disease in children

Abstract

Complications of chronic ear disease in children are still prevalent despite early intervention with antibiotics and surgery. The issue of most concern at present is the emergence of penicillin- resistant pneumococci. This paper describes the child prone to otitis, in whom the early identification of the bacterial cause of middle ear infection and appropriate antibiotic therapy are important. Several methods for closing perforations, including the use of allografts, tragal perichondrium, and formalin-fixed fascia, are discussed. The “second look” after intact canal wall tympanomastoidectomy is reviewed, and an endoscopic approach is noted. Labyrinthine fistulae still occur as a complication of cholesteatoma or granulation inflammation, and a method of correcting them is described.