Algorithmic management of pediatric acute mastoiditis.

Objective: Today, no uniformly accepted diagnostic and therapeutic criteria have been established for the management of pediatric acute mastoiditis. The aim of this study is determine the efficacy and safety of an algorithmic approach for treating pediatric acute mastoiditis.

Methods: The medical records of all children (n=167) with a diagnosis of AM admitted in our center during the period 2002-2010 were retrospectively studied.

Dermatopathic lymphadenitis imitating a deep neck space infection.

Introduction: Dermatopathic lymphadenitis (DL) represents a benign form of reactive lymph node hyperplasia. Symptoms attributed to DL alone are expected to be mild. The purpose of this study was to present a rare case of DL in a young girl that manifested as a deep neck space infection.

Human rhinoviruses in otitis media with effusion.

Frequent viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are considered to be risk factors for otitis media with effusion (OME). Atopy has also been associated with both OME and viral infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of viruses in middle ear effusions (MEE) in children 2-7 yr old with OME, and to determine risk factors for virus detection in the MEE.

IgE sensitization, respiratory allergy symptoms, and heritability independently increase the risk of otitis media with effusion.

Background And Aims: Epidemiological evidence examining the role of atopy and/or allergy in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion (OME) is inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess any increased risk for OME attributable to allergy-related factors, in a well-characterized population using a case-control design and multivariate analysis.

Subjects And Methods: Eighty-eight 1-7-year-old children with OME, diagnosed by clinical and tympanometric evaluation and 80 matched controls were enrolled.

Otitis media with effusion: an effort to understand and clarify the uncertainties.

Otitis media with effusion--defined as the accumulation of middle-ear effusion behind an intact tympanic membrane without signs or symptoms of acute infection--is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in children in developed countries, potentially leading to language deficits. Although treatment of chronic or relapsing otitis media with effusion is considered imperative, none of the preventative or nonsurgical management measures currently available have proven effective. Tympanostomy tube placement remains the recommended treatment option for high-risk children or for cases of unresponsive otitis media with effusion.