Tuberculosis of the ear, a professional disease?
Tuberculosis is a rare cause of chronic suppurative otitis media and mastoiditis; the predisposing factors of this association, however, are not commonly described. There has been an alarming increase in the incidence of tuberculosis in Brazil, including tuberculous otitis media. These patients typically present multiple perforations of the tympanic membrane, an ear discharge, and progressive hearing loss. This diagnosis should be taken into account in patients that do not respond to routine therapy for fungal external otitis or bacterial otitis media. In this retrospective study, the authors describe four cases of patients with tuberculous otitis media. This sample consisted of two physicians, a chemical engineer and an underage child in whose family there were cases of active tuberculosis. Predisposing factors for tuberculous otitis were contact with family members that had tuberculosis, professional contact with patients and exposure to pathogenic microorganisms in airways.
Patrícia Maria
PM
Sens
Clemente I R
CI
Almeida
Lupércio O do
LO
Valle
Luís H C
LH
Costa
Miguel L S
ML
Angeli
D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007538:Isoniazid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011718:Pyrazinamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012293:Rifampin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D011718:Pyrazinamide; D007538:Isoniazid; D012293:Rifampin