Otitis in Patients With Community-Acquired Bacterial Meningitis: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Otitis is commonly associated with community-acquired bacterial meningitis, but the role of ear surgery as treatment is debated. In this study, we investigated the impact of otitis and ear surgery on outcome of adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis. METHODS: We analyzed episodes of adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis from a nationwide prospective cohort study in the Netherlands, between March 2006 and July 2021. RESULTS: A total of 2548 episodes of community-acquired bacterial meningitis were evaluated. Otitis was present in 696 episodes (27%). In these patients the primary causative pathogen was Streptococcus pneumoniae (615 of 696 [88%]), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (5%) and Haemophilus influenzae (4%). In 519 of 632 otitis episodes (82%) an ear-nose-throat specialist was consulted, and surgery was performed in 287 of 519 (55%). The types of surgery performed were myringotomy with ventilation tube insertion in 110 of 287 episodes (38%), mastoidectomy in 103 of 287 (36%), and myringotomy alone in 74 of 287 (26%). Unfavorable outcome occurred in 210 of 696 episodes (30%) and in 65 of 696 episodes was fatal (9%). Otitis was associated with a favorable outcome in a multivariable analysis (odds ratio 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI] .59-.92; P = .008). There was no association between outcome and ear surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Otitis is a common focus of infection in community-acquired bacterial meningitis in adults, with S. pneumoniae being the most common causative pathogen. Presence of otitis is associated with a favorable outcome. Ear surgery's impact on the outcome of otogenic meningitis patients remains uncertain.

Efficacy of endoscopic repair for CSF otorrhoea in children with recurrent meningitis due to incomplete partition type 1.

OBJECTIVE: To review the efficacy of endoscopic management with or without cochlear implantation in a pediatric population presenting with recurrent meningitis due to inner ear incomplete partition type 1 (IP-1). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicentric report of 6 patients with a history of recurrent meningitis due to IP-1 was done. Radiological evaluation was performed to confirm the diagnosis. Transcanal endoscopic repair of the defect was performed in 3 cases, 2 cases underwent endoscope-assisted repair followed by cochlear implantation in the contralateral ear later, and 1 patient underwent endoscopic repair along with simultaneous cochlear implantation. RESULTS: Radiology confirmed the diagnosis and identified the site of the leak. A leak was detected in all cases from the stapes footplate. Two patients with unilateral deformity had a CSF-filled cyst protruding through a defect in the stapes footplate, and the rest of the four had a high flow CSF leak from the footplate. Five patients who underwent repair have had no further episodes of meningitis. One patient who received simultaneous implantation and repair developed postoperative meningitis managed successfully with antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Hearing loss due to inner ear deformity can be easily missed as a cause for recurrent meningitis, especially if unilateral. A high index of suspicion, audiological screening and radiology are essential to clinch the diagnosis. In such cases, a pure endoscopic or endoscopic assisted transcanal approach to repair CSF otorrhoea is an effective alternative to more radical procedures like subtotal petrosectomy with obliteration. In patients with bilateral profound hearing loss, simultaneous cochlear implantation and repair of the defect can be performed successfully.

Pneumolabyrinth: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the literature about the etiology, clinical and radiological presentation, surgical management, and outcomes of pneumolabyrinth (PNL). METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed including studies published up to September 2020 in electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus). The PRISMA standard was applied to identify English, Italian, or French-language studies mentioning PNL. Full texts lacking information on the etiology were excluded. Data concerning the cause, site of air bubbles/fistula, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome were collected. A qualitative synthesis of the results was performed. RESULTS: Seventy-eight articles were eventually included; 132 patients were involved in the qualitative synthesis. The most common causes were: stapes surgery (24/132, 18.2%), temporal bone fracture (42/132, 31.8%), head trauma without temporal bone fracture (19/132, 14.4%), penetrating trauma (21/132, 15.9%), and barotrauma (15/132, 11.4%). The site most commonly involved was the vestibule (102/107, 95.3%), followed by cochlea (43/107, 40.2%) and semicircular canals (25/107, 23.4%). CONCLUSION: The etiopathogenesis of PNL can be summarized in traumatic, iatrogenic, or inflammatory/infective. Its management consists in exploratory tympanotomy and sealing the fistula, but also conservative treatments can be attempted. Vestibular symptoms disappear in the majority of cases. Instead, the prognosis of hearing function is widely variable, and complete recovery is less probable. The certainty of evidence is still too low to make it useful for clinical decision-making.

Colesteatoma de oído con complicación intracraneana en contexto de pandemia COVID-19: Reporte de caso clínico y revisión de literatura

Resumen La otitis media crónica colesteatomatosa (OMCC) complicada es una condición inusual en la época actual. Clásicamente las complicaciones se han clasificado en extracraneales e intracraneales. Estas últimas suponen un alto riesgo para los pacientes debido a la alta morbimortalidad y las secuelas neurológicas asociadas. La atención médica oportuna y derivación a otorrinolaringología junto con las medidas preventivas en edad pediátrica han disminuido la incidencia de los colesteatomas y sus complicaciones. Se presenta a continuación el caso de una paciente de 50 años, atendida en el Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente de Concepción (Chile) por cuadro de OMCC complicada con meningoencefalitis y vasculitis infecciosa sin consulta precoz por contexto de pandemia COVID-19. Se expone metodología diagnóstica y manejo terapéutico.

Abstract Complicated chronic cholesteatomatous media otitis (CCMO) is an unusual condition nowadays. Complications have traditionally been classified as extracranial and intracranial. The last one entails a higher risk for patients due to high morbi-mortality and neurological consequences associated. Suitable medical care and otorhinolaryngological attention among with preventive measures in pediatric age have decreased the incidence of cholesteatomas and their complications. The following, is the case of a 50-year-old patient treated for CCMO at Guillermo Grant Benavente Hospital in Concepcion (Chile) complicated due to meningoencephalitis and infectious vasculitis without early diagnose due to COVID-19 pandemic. Diagnostic methodology and therapeutic management are exposed.

Pneumococcal Otogenic Meningitis Complicated With Pneumocephalus and Coma State.

We herein describe the unusual case of a male patient with pneumococcal otogenic meningitis, which was complicated with non-traumatic pneumocephalus and coma, in the absence of head trauma or a neurosurgical procedure. The initiation of an aggressive, empirical scheme with wide-spectrum antibiotics was achieved to stop the progression of meningitis, pneumocephalus, and their underlying causes in this patient. We propose pathogenetic mechanisms to explain this life-threatening condition.

Otogenic Meningitis: A Comparison of Diagnostic Performance of Surgery and Radiology.

Development of intracranial complications from middle ear infections might be difficult to diagnose. We compared radiological and surgical findings of 26 patients affected by otogenic meningitis. Results of our analysis showed that surgery is more reliable than imaging in revealing bone defects. Therefore, suggest that surgery be performed for diagnosis and eventual management of all cases of suspected otogenic meningitis.

Meningite otogênica por Streptococcus pyogenes sorotipo M3 / Otogenic meningitis by Streptococcus pyogenes serotype M3

Atualmente, a meningite bacteriana constitui sério problema de saúde pública mundial. Sua incidência, aliada ao seu potencial de letalidade e seqüelas, torna a doença de extrema importância social, despertando o interesse dos profissionais de saúde quanto ao seu diagnóstico e tratamento precoces. Meningites causadas por Streptococcus pyogenes têm sido consideradas raras na literatura, sendo os sorotipos M1, M3 e M18 associados a maior virulência e elevado potencial de letalidade. O presente estudo tem como objetivo descrever um caso de paciente masculino de 14 anos de idade, com otite média aguda, que evoluiu com meningite por Streptococcus pyogenes, septicemia e óbito. As cepas de S. pyogenes isoladas de cultura de líquor e hemocultura foram submetidas à tipagem molecular pelos métodos Pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) e emm, identificando-se o sorotipo M3. Pôde-se concluir que, tratava-se de cepa potencialmente agressiva, freqüentemente associada a quadros fatais, com evolução a partir de otite média aguda supurada, doença bastante freqüente na comunidade. Os profissionais de saúde devem atentar para o aumento de infecções letais provocadas por esta bactéria, sendo altamente desejável o diagnóstico e tratamento precoces.

Bacterial meningitis is a serious current public health problem worldwide. Its incidence and potential capacity to cause lethality and sequels turn the disease into a very important social problem, taking interest of health professionals to early diagnosis and treatment. Meningitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes has been considered rare in the literature, and the serotypes M1, M3 and M18 are associated to high virulence, frequently causing death. The present study aims to report a case of a 14 year-old male patient with acute otitis media, followed with meningitis by Streptococcus pyogenes, sepsis and death. The strains of S. pyogenes isolated from cerebrospinal fluid culture and hemoculture were submitted to molecular typing using Pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and emm methods, identifying serotype M3. We concluded that this strain is potentially aggressive, frequently associated with lethal infections, beginning with suppurate acute otitis media, a common infection in community. The health professionals should pay attention at the increase of lethal infections caused by this pathogen, being important the early diagnosis and treatment.