Malignant otitis externa, an increasing burden in the twenty-first century: review of cases in a UK teaching hospital, with a proposed algorithm for diagnosis and management

摘要

Malignant otitis externa is a potentially fatal infection of the skull base. With an ageing population and increasing prevalence of diabetes, the incidence of malignant otitis externa in the British population is rising. To date, there remain no accepted diagnostic criteria, few prognostic indicators and no consensus treatment pathways.