title: [Tuberculosis of the ear today].
abstract: In the introduction, the changes in the clinical features of tuberculosis over the past few decades are analyzed. Despite the reverse trend in incidence, tuberculosis is still one of the major infectious diseases in the world. The essential points in fighting tuberculosis are prophylaxis and early diagnosis, therapy hardly presenting any problems today. A brief survey of the clinical picture of tuberculosis of the ear in general is followed by an analysis of the case findings in patients treated in this department over the past twenty years. Important features are the reverse trend in the incidence of the disease, the predominance of male patients, the history of pulmonary tuberculosis and chronic otitis, and the pathological--and in part highly characteristic--findings concerning the tympanic membrane. The diagnosis of this condition, which is fraught with difficulties, rests with accurate history taking, local inspection and lung X-ray as the most important diagnostic holds. While the therapy of the exudative form of tuberculosis of the ear presents no problem, the proliferating, destructive form is very difficult to treat. A description of several cases helps to show how difficult and time-consuming it may be to establish the diagnosis of ear tuberculosis.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
vernacular_title: Die Ohrtuberkulose heute.