List I - Core Conditions Flashcards
(85 cards)
What is otitis externa?
- Inflammation of the external ear canal
How can otitis externa be further catagorised?
- Localised otitis externa
- Diffuse otitis externa
- Acute
- Chronic
- Malignant
What is localised otitis externa?
- Folliculitis (infection of a hair follicle) that can progress to become a furuncle (boil) in the ear canal
What is diffuse otitis externa (aka swimmers ear or tropical ear)?
- Widespread inflammation of the skin and sub-dermis of the external ear canal which can extend to the external ear and the tympanic membrane
When is otitis externa classed as acute?
- If it has lasted for 3 weeks or less
When is otitis externa classed as chronic?
- If it has lasted for longer than 3 months
What is malignant otitis externa?
- Aggressive infection that predominantly affects people who are immunocompromised or have DBM or the elderly
- Otitis externa spreads into the bone surrounding the ear canal (the mastoid and temporal bones - known as necrotising otitis
What are the causes of acute diffuse otitis externa?
- Bacterial infection
- Most common with pseudomonas aeruginosa or staphylococcus aureus
- Fungal infections
- Superficial - aspergillus species or candida albicans
- Deep (of the stratum corneum) due to - epidermophyton, trichophyton or microsporum genera
- Seborrhoeic dermatitis
- Contact dermatitis
- Trauma - scratching, aggressive cleaning, ear synringing, foreign objects in the ear, use of cotton buds, hearing aids or ear plugs
- Environmental factors - high temperature and/or high humidity, perspiration, swimming (especially in polluted water)
What are the causes of chronic diffuse otitis externa?
- Allergic contact dermatitis
- Irritant contact dermatitis
- Seborrhoeic dermatitis
- Fungal infection
- Bacterial infection
- Localised otitis externa - usually caused by infection of a hair root by staphylococcus aureus
- Idiopathic
What are the risk factors for malignant otitis externa?
- Diabetes mellitus - present in most cases of malignant otitis
- Compromised immunity such as from HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy or CKD
- Radiotherapy to the head or the neck
- Aural irrigation with tap water, especially in people with other risk factors
What are the possible complications of otitis externa?
- Abscess
- Chronic otitis externa
- Regional dissemination of infection with auricular cellulitis, chondritis, parotitis, spreading cellulitis
- Fibrosis, leading to stenosis of the ear canal and conductive deafness
- Myringitis (inflammation of the tympanic membrane)
- Tympanic membrane perforation
- Malignant otitis (complications of this include):
- Facial nerve paralysis
- Meningitis
What is the prognosis for acute diffuse otitis externa?
- Symptoms of acute otitis externa usually improve within 48 - 72 hours of initiation treatment
- Between 65-90% of patients with uncomplicated diffuse otitis externa have clinical resolution within 7 to 10 days, regardless of the topical medicine used
What is the prognosis of localised otitis externa?
- Folliculitis may heal on its own after an initial period of itching and pain or
- It may develop into a pustule (i.e. furuncle) with increasing discomfort, which, without treatment, will burst, drain and finally heal
What is the prognosis of chronic otitis externa?
- Lumen of the ear canal progressively narrows, and after several years, may become completely stenosed, resulting in deafness in the affected ear
What is the prognosis of malignant otitis?
- Without treatment, this can be a fatal condition - osteomyelitis will progressively involve the mastoid, temporal, and basal skull bones and the infection will spread to the CSF causing meningitis
Who is otitis externa more common in?
- Can affect all ages
* Incidence peaks at 7 - 12 years and declines in those aged over 50
What are the signs of otitis externa?
- Ear canal or external ear, or both, are red, swollen, or eczematous with shedding of the scaly skin.
- Swelling in the ear canal is typical of an early presentation of localized otitis externa; later the swelling has a white or yellow centre filled with pus; occasionally this progresses and the swelling eventually completely occludes the ear canal.
- Discharge (serous or purulent) may be present in the ear canal.
- Inflamed eardrum, which may be difficult to visualize if the ear canal is narrowed or filled with debris
What are the symptoms of otitis externa?
- Itch (typical).
- Severe ear pain, disproportionate to the size of the lesion (typical).
- Pain made worse when the tragus or pinna is moved, or when an otoscope is inserted (typical).
- Tenderness on moving the jaw.
- Tender regional lymphadenitis — may be present (less common).
- Sudden relief of pain if the furuncle in localized otitis externa bursts (rare).
- Loss of hearing if there is sufficient swelling to occlude the ear canal (rare)
What are the signs and symptoms of chronic otitis externa?
- Signs
- Lack of earwax in the external ear canal
- Dry hypertrophic skin which varies in thickness but often results in at least partial canal stenosis
- Pain on manipulation of the external ear canal and auricle
- Symptoms
- Constant itch in the ear
- Mild discomfort
- Pain, if present, is usually mild
What are the signs and symptoms of malignant otitis externa?
- Signs:
- Granulation tissue at bone–cartilage junction of ear canal; exposed bone in the ear canal.
- Facial nerve palsy (drooping face on the side of the lesion).
- Temperature over 39°C.
- Symptoms:
- Pain and headache, more severe than clinical signs would suggest.
- Vertigo.
- Profound hearing loss
What are the alternative diagnoses for otitis externa?
- AMO
- Foreign body in the ear
- Impacted ear wax
- Cholesteatoma
- Mastoiditis
- Malignant otitis
- Neoplasm
- Referred pain
- Ramsay Hunt syndrome
- Barotrauma
- Skin conditions
How should a person with localised otitis externa be managed?
- Treat the pain if present
- Analgesic and local heat
- Treat infection if necessary
- Only consider an oral antibiotic for people with severe infection, or at high risk for severe infection for example:
- Furunculosis or cellulitis spreads beyond the ear canal to the pinna, neck or face
- Signs of systemic infection such as fever
- The person has a medical condition which is associated with increased risk of severe infection (DBM or compromised immunity)
- If oral anti-biotic is required consider a 7 day course of flucloxacillin or clarithromycin if the person is allergic to penicillin
- Drain the pus if necessary - if causing severe pain and swelling
How should a person with acute diffuse otitis externa be assessed?
- Assess severity of symptoms
- Itch
- Hearing loss
- Ear discharge
- Severity of inflammation (more likely to be severe if any of the following are present)
- Fever
- Cellulitis spreading beyond the ear
- Regional lymphadenopathy
- Discharge (serous or purulent)
- Hearing loss (conductive)
- Red, oedematous ear canal narrowed and obscured by debris
- Examine the ear canal, tympanic membrane, the aurical and cervical nodes
- Can be difficult to adequately visualise the tympanic membrane in people with otitis externa, perforation can be assumed if the person has had a tympanostomy tube inserted in the past 12 months and there is no documentation of extrusion and closure of the tympanic membrane
- Can blow air out of the ear when the nose is pinched or
- Can taste medication placed in the ear
- Consider taking an ear swab to determine the causative organism
When should an ear swab be taken for a person with otitis externa?
- To determine the causative organism if:
- Treatment fails
- Otitis externa is recurrent or chronic
- Topical treatment cannot be delivered effectively (for example if the ear canal is occluded due to swelling or debris)
- Infection has spread beyond the external auditory canal
- Condition is severe enough to require oral antibiotics