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Mastoiditis is an inflammation or infection of the mastoid bone, one of the bones in the skull behind the ear.
It occurs as a result of a middle ear infection.
The most common symptoms are pain, redness or swelling behind the ear, earache, the pinna (ear) moving forward due to swelling of the mastoid bone, fever, irritability or nervousness, headache and hearing loss.
Diagnosis is made by history, physical examination (with an otoscope), imaging tests and the possibility of cultures of the ear drainage.
Treatment consists of early administration of antibiotics, although there are cases that are difficult to treat, requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment and even surgery to properly drain the pus from the area.
- Garcia C, Salgueiro AB, Luís C, Correia P, Brito MJ. Acute mastoiditis in children: Middle ear cultures may help in reducing use of broad spectrum antibiotics. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2017 Jan;92:32-37.
- Carmel E, Curotta JH, Cheng AT.Prognostic effect of pre- and post-admission antibiotic treatment in paediatric acute mastoiditis. Laryngol Otol. 2017 Jan;131(S1):S12-S17.
- Attlmayr B, Zaman S, Scott J, Derbyshire SG, Clarke RW, De S.Paediatric acute mastoiditis, then and now: is it more of a problem now?.J Laryngol Otol. 2015 Oct;129(10):955-9.
- Marom T, Roth Y, Boaz M, Shushan S, Oron Y, Goldfarb A, Dalal I, Ovnat Tamir S. Acute Mastoiditis in Children: Necessity and Timing of Imaging. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2016 Jan;35(1):30-4.
- Laulajainen-Hongisto A, Aarnisalo AA, Jero J. Differentiating Acute Otitis Media and Acute Mastoiditis in Hospitalized Children. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2016 Oct;16(10):72.
Dr. Maria Trabazo
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