Chronic otitis media and middle ear variants:Is there relation?

BACKGROUND Chronic otitis media(COM)is an inflammatory disease that lasts for a long time.It is common in developing countries.Hearing loss can result from COM.The relationship between variations in middle ear anatomy and COM was investigated in our study.AIM To compare the prevalence of middle ear anatomic variations between the cases with COM and healthy individuals.METHODS This retrospective study included 500 patients with COM and 500 healthy controls.The presence of those variants was determined:Koerner’s septum,facial canal dehiscence,high jugular bulb,jugular bulb dehiscence,jugular bulb diverticulum,sigmoid sinus anterior location and deep tympanic recesses.RESULTS A total of 1000 temporal bones were examined.The incidences of these variants were respectively(15.4%-18.6%),(38.6%-41.2%),(18.2%-4.6%),(2.6%-1.2%),(1.2%-0%),(8.6%-0%),(0%-0%).It was observed that only high jugular bulb(P<0.001)and anteriorly located sigmoid sinus frequencies(P=0.002)in the case group were statistically significantly higher than the control groups.CONCLUSION COM is a multifactorial disease and variants of middle ear have always been important in terms of potential risk for complication during surgery but rarely associated with COM as an etiology or as a consequence of the disease.We didn't find a positive correlation between COM and Koerner’s septum and facial canal defect.We ended up with a significant conclusion with the variants of dural venous sinuses-high jugular bulb,dehiscence of jugular bulb,diverticulum of jugular bulb and anteriorly located sigmoid sinus-that have been studied less and frequently associated with inner ear illnesses.

A comparative study of sequential vs.simultaneous type Ⅰ tympanoplasty in patients with bilateral chronic otitis media-Mucosal type

Background:Patients with bilateral chronic otitis media-mucosal type have been conventionally treated with sequential tympanoplasty.Bilateral simultaneous tympanoplasty is usually not preferred because of the theoretical risk of iatrogenic sensorineural hearing loss.With the advent of modern surgical instruments and surgical techniques,the risk is expected to be lower.This study compares the clinical outcomes in typeⅠtympanoplasty performed simultaneously and sequentially.Materials&methods:This randomized prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital between August 2015 and July 2017.A total of 30 patients were divided into two groups of 15 each.This study analyzed the graft uptake,pure tone audiogram findings pre-and post-operatively,duration of surgery and number of hospital visit for each patient and the outco mes were co mpared between both the groups.Result:Patients undergoing bilateral simultaneous tympanoplasty had significantly lesser mean duration of surgery and number of hospital visits than the patients undergoing sequential tympanoplasty.Graft uptake and postoperative wound infections were similar in both the groups.Postoperative hearing improvement was significantly better in the bilateral simultaneous tympanoplasty group.However,further studies are needed to authenticate this observation.None of the patients had a postoperative deterioration of hearing or sensorineural hearing loss.Conclusion:Bilateral simultaneous tympanoplasty is not only feasible but also better than sequential tympanoplasty,especially in terms of operating time,follow-up and overall financial implications on the patient.

Chronic otitis media and subsequent hearing loss in children from the Himalayan region residing in Buddhist Monastic schools of Nepal

Objectives:The main objective of the study was to ascertain the prevalence of chronic otitis media and determine the corresponding hearing loss in children from Nepal’s Himalayan region now residing in Buddhist Monastic schools of Nepal.Methods:The study was conducted among children at Buddhist monastic school in different parts of Nepal.A total of 3174 children aged between 5 and 15 years,who were originally from the Himalayan region of Nepal and were currently residing in monastic schools,were screened for ear problems and hearing loss.They were examined by otoscope to diagnose chronic otitis media.Hearing was evaluated by pure tone audiometer,and 0.5e4 kHz air conduction hearing threshold was measured and documented.Results:Of the total of 3174 children who were screened for ear diseases and hearing loss,monks constituted 76.21%(n?2419)and Nuns 23.78%(n?755).Chronic otitis media was the most common otoscopic finding during the screening,and it affected a total of 344(10.83%)children.Out of these 344,hearing loss of varying degrees was observed in 5.42%(n?172)children.Conclusion:There is high prevalence of chronic otitis media in children belonging to the Himalayan region of Nepal,and it is the main cause of avoidable hearing loss.Timely diagnosis and treatment of chronic otitis media could prevent unnecessary hearing loss in these children.

Aerobic bacteria associated with chronic suppurative otitis media in Angola

Background:Chronic suppurative otitis media(CSOM)is an important cause of hearing loss in children and constitutes a serious health problem globally with a strong association to resource-limited living conditions.Topical antibiotics combined with aural toilet is the first-hand treatment for CSOM but antimicrobial resistance and limited availability to antibiotics are obstacles in some areas.The goal of this study was to define aerobic pathogens associated with CSOM in Angola with the overall aim to provide a background for local treatment recommendations.Methods:Samples from ear discharge and the nasopharynx were collected and cultured from 152 patients with ear discharge and perforation of the tympanic membrane.Identification of bacterial species was performed with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and pneumococci were serotyped using multiplex polymerase chain reactions.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done according to EUCAST.Results:One hundred eighty-four samples from ear discharge and 151 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected and yielded 534 and 289 individual isolates,respectively.In all patients,correspondence rate of isolates from 2 ears in patients with bilateral disease was 27.3%and 9.3%comparing isolates from the nasopharynx and ear discharge,respectively.Proteus spp.(14.7%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(13.2%)and Enterococcus spp.(8.8%)were dominating pathogens isolated from ear discharge.A large part of the remaining species belonged to Enterobacteriaceae(23.5%).Pneumococci and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in approximately 10%of nasopharyngeal samples.Resistance rates to quinolones exceeded 10%among Enterobacteriaceae and was 30.8%in S.aureus,whereas 6.3%of P.aeruginosa were resistant.Conclusions:The infection of the middle ear in CSOM is highly polymicrobial,and isolates found in nasopharynx do not correspond well with those found in ear discharge.Pathogens associated with CSOM in Angola are dominated by gram-negatives including Enterobacteriaceae and P.aeruginosa,while gram-positive enterococci also are common.Based on the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing topical quinolones would be the preferred antibiotic therapy of CSOM in Angola.Topical antiseptics such as aluminium acetate,acetic acid or boric acid,however,may be more feasible options due to a possibly emerging antimicrobial resistance.

Evaluation and significance of Eustachian tube angles and pretympanic diameter in HRCT temporal bone of patients with chronic otitis media

Objective:To evaluate the significance of Eustachian tube(ET)angles and ET pretympanic diameter on high resolution computed tomography(HRCT)Temporal bone in patients with chronic otitis media(COM).Methods:A retrospective study was carried out at Tertiary care centre.Group A included 92 ears with COM(38 patients with bilateral COM and 16 with unilateral COM);and Group B included 108 normal ears(54 patients with bilateral normal ears).Reid plane-ET angle,Tubotympanic angle and the ET pretympanic diameter was evaluated by HRCT temporal bone,and compared in the two groups.Patients with chronic otitis media(Group A)were subdivided into Group A1(Blocked ET)and Group A2(Patent ET).The parameters were evaluated and compared in the subgroups too.Results:The mean Reid plane-ET angle and Tubotympanic angle in Group A was 25.41
2.57 and 148.12
3.43 respectively;whereas in Group B it was 27.56
3.62 and 145.14
4.34 respectively.Reid plane-ET angle was significantly less in patients with COM and Tubotympanic angle was significantly more obtuse in COM patients.ET pretympanic diameter was(5.37
2.10)mm in Group A and(6.47
2.40)mm in Group B.It was significantly less in patients with COM.A significant correlation was found between the ET patency and the two ET parameters(Reid plane-ET angle and pretympanic diameter).Conclusions:Eustachian tube angles in adults may play a significant role in the etiology of chronic otitis media.Decrease in Reid plane-ET angle and pretympanic diameter on HRCT temporal bone can be used to predict ET dysfunction and to plan the surgical management of chronic otitis media.

Diagnosis of Middle Ear Diseases Based on Convolutional Neural Network

An otoscope is traditionally used to examine the eardrum and ear canal.A diagnosis of otitis media(OM)relies on the experience of clinicians.If an examiner lacks experience,the examination may be difficult and time-consuming.This paper presents an ear disease classification method using middle ear images based on a convolutional neural network(CNN).Especially the segmentation and classification networks are used to classify an otoscopic image into six classes:normal,acute otitis media(AOM),otitis media with effusion(OME),chronic otitis media(COM),congenital cholesteatoma(CC)and traumatic perforations(TMPs).The Mask R-CNN is utilized for the segmentation network to extract the region of interest(ROI)from otoscopic images.The extracted ROIs are used as guiding features for the classification.The classification is based on transfer learning with an ensemble of two CNN classifiers:EfficientNetB0 and Inception-V3.The proposed model was trained with a 5-fold cross-validation technique.The proposed method was evaluated and achieved a classification accuracy of 97.29%.

Mastoid obliteration and reconstruction techniques:A review of the literature

Objective To review the published literature related to the different obliteration and reconstruction techniques in the management of the canal wall down mastoidectomy.Methods A PubMed(Medline)and LILACS databases as well as crossed references search was performed with the following Mesh terms:“cholesteatoma”,“cholesteatoma-middle ear”,“otitis media”,“otitis media,suppurative”,“mastoiditis”,“mastoidectomy”,“canal wall down mastoidectomy”,“radical mastoidectomy”,“mastoid obliteration”and crossed references.Inclusion criteria were adult patients subject to mastoid cavity obliteration and posterior canal wall reconstruction.The technique and materials used,anatomic and functional results,complications,recurrence rates,and changes in quality of life,were analyzed.A total of 94 articles were screened,38 were included for full-text detailed review.Results Twenty-one articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria.Techniques and materials used for canal wall reconstruction,tympanoplasty,and ossiculoplasty were varied and included autologous,biosynthetic,or both.Auditory results were reported in 16 studies and were inconsistent.Three studies reported improvement in the quality of life using the GBI scale.Follow-up time ranged from 1 to 83 months.Eleven articles used imaging studies to evaluate postoperative disease recurrence.The highest recurrence rate reported for cholesteatoma after obliteration was 19%.The most frequently reported complications were retraction pockets and transient otorrhea.Conclusion Plenty of techniques combining grafts and other materials have been used to overcome mastoidectomy cavity problems.So far,it is still not possible to standardize an ideal procedure.The available level of evidence for this topic is low and limited.

Malleostapedotomy for otosclerosis,our experience of nitinol piston on twelve patients

Objective:Malleostapedotomy allows to completely by-pass the incus in otosclerosis surgery.Recently its use has been rivaled by hydroxyapatite cement for cases of mild and moderate necrosis of the incus.However,it remains gold standard for cases of extensive necrosis,incus dislocation,or epitympanic fixation.Modern heat-crimping pistons make surgery easier and safer.This study focuses on our experience with this technique.Methods:Retrospective analysis of patient’s files and pre-and post-operative audiograms,for cases of surgically treated otosclerosis with malleostapedotomy.Results:Twelve patients underwent malleostapedotomy for otosclerosis between 2011 and 2019.Amongst them there were 10 revision surgeries and 2 primary cases.75%had incus long-process necrosis,17%had epitympanic fixation and one had a history of incus transposition.Nine patients(75%)had closure of air-bone gap(ABG)of<10 dB(p<0.001)and 11(92%)had a threshold of 20 dB(p<0.001).Mean pre-operative ABG was 31 dB(15 dBe55 dB),and mean post-operative ABG was 7 dB(0 dBe21 dB;p<0.001).There was no sensorineural hearing loss nor any other post-operative complication.Conclusions:Malleostapedotomy is a safe and reliable technique,allowing an ABG closure comparable to conventional incus to vestibule prosthesis.It remains the preferred technique whenever the incus cannot be used.

Experimental models of cholesteatoma: A review

Cholesteatoma describes the keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium in the middle ear and mastoid, which has osteoclastic activity and is capable of bone resorption. Its origin is unknown and remains a topic of current investigation. In addition, ongoing studies are investigating new molecules for treatment. This review summarizes the various experimental models of cholesteatoma.

Comparison of endoscopic tympanoplasty to microscopic tympanoplasty in anterior tympanic membrane perforation

Objective:Tympanoplasty aims to eradicate lesions and restore middle ear function in chronic otitis media.This study was conducted to compare the surgical and functional outcomes of endoscopic tympanoplasty(ET)and microscopic tympanoplasty(MT)in anterior tympanic membrane perforation.Methods:The clinical data of 42 patients undergoing tympanoplasty with anterior quadrants tympanic membrane perforation between January 2018 and July 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were classified into the ET group(n?22)or the MT group(n?20).Patients’demographics,clinical characteristics,surgical and functional outcomes were assessed between the two groups.Results:External auditory canal widening was not necessary in the ET group and was performed in 55.0%of patients in the MT group.The operation time of the ET group was significantly shorter than that of the MT group(61.23±11.48 min vs.78.65±11.79 min,p=0.034).The pain scale score of the ET group at 24 hours after surgery was significantly lower than that of the MT group(0.86±0.64 vs.2.40±1.14,p=0.029).The grafting success rate was 95.5%(21/22)in the ET group and 95.0%(19/20)in the MT group.In the ET group,the pre-and postoperative air-bone gap were 35.60±8.43 dB and 18.79±5.80 dB,respectively,which was a significant improvement(p=0.016).The respective values in the MT group(33.33±7.88 dB and 19.58±6.24 dB)also represented a significant improvement(p=0.004).Conclusion:ET is more beneficial for patients with anterior tympanic membrane perforations,which helps minimize the surgical trauma and reduces operation time and postoperative pain.