Objective: To describe a case series of previously undiagnosed granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) patients who presented primarily with otological manifestations.

Method: We report a series of patients visited at a neurotology clinic who were eventually diagnosed with GPA based on their otologic complaints and had no prior knowledge of having this condition.

Results: In this series, 10 (91%) patients presented with hearing loss (HL), more than half of which were bilateral (60%). Upon audiometric examination, all but 1 patient had mixed, conductive, or sensorineural HL. All patients presented with eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), otitis media with effusion (OME), or both. Nasal endoscopy showed intranasal pathology in 3 (27%) patients. Otologic symptoms were improved in all patients after treatment with an average of 4 in-office follow-up appointments.

Conclusion: GPA should be included in the differential diagnosis of adults with unexplained mixed hearing loss, new onset serous effusion, or acute otitis media in the absence of a previous history of ETD. Laboratory tests (ie, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein) along with a urinalysis can aid in screening these patients. In cases in which the index of suspicion is high, repeated testing could reduce the risk of false negative findings.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0003489418815517DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

patients presented
12
case series
8
granulomatosis polyangiitis
8
hearing loss
8
otitis media
8
patients
7
series granulomatosis
4
polyangiitis diagnosed
4
diagnosed otological
4
otological manifestations
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!