title: Recurrent meningitis due to a congenital fistula of the stapedial footplate.
abstract: A rare case of a congenital fistula of the stapes footplate, in a 10-year-old girl, resulting in recurrent meningitis, is reported. A full ENT examination and a high index of suspicion, is essential if the diagnosis is to be made. Exploratory tympanotomy should be considered on clinical grounds, even if a high resolution CT scan of the temporal bones does not show any anomalies, in order to ascertain the definite diagnosis of a fistula and to seal it permanently.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, St James's University Hospital, Leeds.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kaddour
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003638:Deafness / Q000209:etiology; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000151:congenital; D005260:Female; D005402:Fistula / Q000150:complications / Q000151:congenital*; D006801:Humans; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000209:etiology*; D012008:Recurrence; D013199:Stapes / Q000002:abnormalities*