Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Malignant External Otitis.
OBJECTIVE
Malignant external otitis (MEO) is a potentially fatal infection of the external auditory canal, temporal bone, and skull base. Despite treatment with modern antibiotics, MEO can lead to skull base osteomyelitis. Until now, there have been few studies on the prognostic factors of MEO.


METHODS
We performed a retrospective study to identify prognostic factors of MEO, and a meta-analysis of other articles investigating MEO. On the basis of disease progression the 28 patients in our study were divided into 'controlled' and 'uncontrolled' groups, consisting of 12 and 16 patients, respectively. We identified three categories of prognostic factors: those related to patient, disease, and treatment. We compared these prognostic factors between the controlled and uncontrolled groups.


RESULTS
In our study, the duration of diabetes mellitus (DM), presence of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate), and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging findings influenced the prognosis of MEO. In contrast, prognosis was unrelated to age, gender, mean glucose level, hemoglobin A1c level, pathogen, comorbidity, or cranial nerve involvement. No factor related to treatment modality was correlated with prognosis, such as surgery, steroid therapy, or interval to the first appropriate treatment. Cranial nerve involvement has been proven to be associated with disease progression, but the relationship between cranial nerve involvement and the prognosis of MEO remains controversial. As a part of this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of cranial nerve involvement as a prognostic factor of MEO. We found that cranial nerve involvement has a statistically significant influence on the prognosis of MEO.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that glycemic control in diabetes mellitus, cranial nerve involvement, and the extent of disease determined from various imaging modalities influence the prognosis of MEO. We suggest that significant prognostic factors should be monitored to determine the prognosis of patients with MEO.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Sang Kuk
SK
Lee
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Se A
SA
Lee
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Sang Woo
SW
Seon
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Jae Hyun
JH
Jung
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Jong Dae
JD
Lee
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jae Young
JY
Choi
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.
Bo Gyung
BG
Kim
Malignant; Meta-Analysis; Otitis Externa; Prognosis
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