A Case of Tuberculosis of the Middle Ear in a Pediatric Patient

Abstract

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that has been identified in Japan and may progress to severe conditions. The middle ear is one of the extrapulmonary sites of tuberculosis, and early detection and treatment are considered important to prevent complications and outbreaks. However, with the development of medical care in developed countries, the number of cases reported in the past few years has been decreasing, and the opportunities to examine such patients have been rare. In addition, because tuberculosis of the middle ear lacks characteristic findings, it is difficult to distinguish it from otitis externa, chronic otitis media, or cholesteatoma, which may lead to a delay in diagnosis. We experienced a rare case of tuberculosis of the middle ear in a pediatric patient. We report the characteristics and recent trends of tuberculosis of the middle ear. We consider that otolaryngologists, who routinely deal with pediatric ear diseases, will have a significant impact on the prevention of mass infections and complications by reaffirming the characteristics and clinical picture of these diseases. A thorough examination should be performed until the possibility of tuberculosis is ruled out. After diagnosis, it is important to carry out surgical treatment, if necessary, in addition to conventional drug treatments.