Stratification for malignant external otitis.

Abstract

To propose a CT-based method for early identification of severe cases of malignant external otitis (MEO) by correlating between initial CT findings and clinical course. Eighteen MEO patients who underwent CT on admission were included in this retrospective study conducted at a tertiary center. The number and extent of anatomical areas involved according to CT were compared to clinical course severity. The patients were categorized into two groups according to clinical course. There were 13 patients in the "nonsevere" group and 5 in the "severe." In six out of eight CT anatomical areas the "severe" group had significantly higher scores (P < 0.05 to P < 0.0005). The average number of areas involved in the "nonsevere" group was 2.9 and in the "severe" 5.4 (P < 0.0005). We found a clear correlation between clinical course and initial CT findings in MEO patients. Based on these findings it may be possible to predict clinical course severity according to initial CT.