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Book

Otitis Externa

Yiraima Medina-Blasini  1 , Tariq Sharman  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
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Free Books & Documents
Book

Otitis Externa

Yiraima Medina-Blasini et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Otitis externa (OE) is an inflammation, that can be either infectious or non-infectious, of the external auditory canal. In some cases, inflammation can extend to the outer ear, such as the pinna or tragus. OE can be classified as acute (lasts less than 6 weeks) or chronic (lasts more than 3 months). It is also known as swimmer's ear as it often occurs during the summer and in tropical climates and having retained water in the ears increases the risk for it. The most common cause of acute otitis externa is a bacterial infection. It may be associated with allergies, eczema, and psoriasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Yiraima Medina-Blasini declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Tariq Sharman declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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    1. Rosenfeld RM, Schwartz SR, Cannon CR, Roland PS, Simon GR, Kumar KA, Huang WW, Haskell HW, Robertson PJ, American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Clinical practice guideline: acute otitis externa executive summary. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Feb;150(2):161-8. - PubMed
    1. Wipperman J. Otitis externa. Prim Care. 2014 Mar;41(1):1-9. - PubMed
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