Clinical characteristics of spontaneous cholesteatoma of the external auditory canal in children comparing with cholesteatoma in adults

摘要

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of external auditory canal cholesteatoma (EACC) in children through evaluation of the clinical and radiologic features as well as treatment outcomes. The clinical records were retrospectively reviewed for children under 15 years of age diagnosed with spontaneous EACC between March 2004 and December 2011. The clinical data of adults diagnosed with spontaneous EACC during the same period were evaluated to compare with EACC in children. Eight patients (3 males and 5 females) with pediatric EACC and 18 patients (7 males and 11 females, 20 ears) with adult EACC were included within the boundary of the study. The mean ages were 12.4 years (age range 9-15) for pediatric EACC and 49.8 years (age range 29-79) for adult EACC patients. Follow-up periods ranged from 8 to 86 months (mean 32.5 +- 8.62) in pediatric EACC and from 6 to 72 months (mean 22.2 +-5.36) in adult EACC. Pediatric EACC, showed involvement most commonly in the posterior wall, while the inferior wall was most commonly involved in adult EACC.