Three Cases of Tuberculous Otitis Media

ABSTRACT

We report the imaging features of three cases of tuberculous otitis media. All three patients underwenttemporal bone CT scanning, and in two, additional MRI scanning was performed. The three cases showed soft tissuedensity in the external auditory canal, and in two, destruction of the trabeculation and internal cortex of themastoid bone was noted. In two patients with facial palsy, erosion of the facial canal was seen. On MRI, abundantgranulomatous tissue was noted in the middle ear cavity and mastoid air cells. In one case, abnormal enhancementof the cochlea, and of the facial and eighth cranial nerve in the internal acoustic canal was seen. Another caseshowed enhancement of the vestibule and lateral semicircular canal. If radiologic evaluation of chronic otitismedia reveals destruction of the tegmen and trabeculation of the mastoid bone, together with abundant granulationtissue and enhancement of the internal ear, tuberculous otitis media may be included in the differentialdiagnosis.