Central nervous system complications associated with acute otitis media in children.
The purpose of this article is to review a subset of pediatric patients with otitis media occurring simultaneously with meningitis and other central nervous system diseases. Of the 92 cases reviewed, 61.3% involved patients under 12 months of age. Meningitis associated with otitis media involved 91% of the patients; the remainder had nonmeningitic central involvement. The most striking finding was the high incidence of Haemophilus influenza type-B, a relatively uncommon pathogen of the middle ear. This finding highlights the need to select antibiotic coverage to adequately treat Haemophilus influenza type-B.
Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
E M
EM
Friedman
T J
TJ
McGill
G B
GB
Healy
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification