Intracranial complications of ear disease in a pediatric population with special emphasis on subdural effusion and empyema

Abstract

Between the years 1963 to 1982, 84 consecutive cases of intracranial complications of ear disease in pediatric patients were diagnosed and treated at the North Carolina Baptist Hospital. This group consisted of 65 patients with otitic meningitis, four with otitic brain abscess, four with otitic hydrocephalus, three with lateral sinus thrombosis, three with otitic subdural empyemas, and five with an otitic subdural effusion of fluid. The advent of antibiotics has drastically altered the natural history of middle ear infections. We present these 84 cases to review diagnostic problems and therapeutic options, and to offer a plea for continued awareness of the middle ear as a potential source of central nervous system complications.