Get Information About Mastoiditis – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Mastoiditis is an infection of the spaces within the mastoid bone. It is almost always associated with otitis media, an infection of the middle ear. In the most serious cases, the bone itself becomes infected. It may spread into small cavities in the bone, blocking their drainage. Very severe cases infect the whole middle ear cleft.
Mastoiditis is a bacterial infection and inflammation of the air cells of the mastoid antrum. Although the prognosis is good with early treatment, possible complications include meningitis, facial paralysis, brain abscess, and suppurative labyrinthitis. It is hollow, like the sinuses of the face, and is connected to the middle ear cavity. Infection may spread from the ear into the mastoid bone. Since the structures involved with hearing are contained in the bone immediately in front of the mastoid, they may be damaged by mastoiditis.
Fever or headache may also be present. Mastoiditis complications arise when the inflammation spreads throughout the antrum and in the posterior fossa of the skull, the middle cranial fossa, the facial nerve canal, and the sigmoid sinus side, and the end of the petrous bone temporal. Local Extension of the disease can cause serious morbidity and potentially fatal disease. If the infection continues to spread, the following complications may occur first is meningitis – an infection of the outside of the brain. second is brain abscess – a pocket of pus and infection that may develop in the brain. The primary treatment for mastoiditis is intravenous antibiotics.
Causes
Mastoiditis is generally a cause of inflammation of the middle ear infection into the mastoid air cells. A child have mastoiditis generally has a exposure of having a recent ear infection or has middle ear infections that continue to reoccur. The risk of mastoiditis is mitigate with the use of antibiotics for ear infections. Mastoiditis may be produced by number of other bacteria’s.
Symptoms of Mastoiditis
Signs and symptoms of mastoiditis include:
Dull ache and tenderness in the area of the mastoid process
Low-grade fever Thick, purulent discharge that gradually becomes more profuse
Postauricular erythema and edema (may push the auricle out from the head)
Treatment
Mastoiditis may be difficult to treat because it is difficult for medications to reach deep enough into the mastoid bone. It may require repeated or long-term treatment. Antibiotics by injection, then antibiotics by mouth are given to treat the infection.
Treatment for mastoiditis consists of intense parenteral antibiotic therapy. Reasonable initial antibiotic choices include ceftriaxone with nafcillin or clindamycin. If bone damage is minimal, myringotomy or tympanocentesis drains purulent fluid and provides a specimen of discharge for culture and sensitivity testing. Recurrent or persistent infection or signs of intracranial complications necessitate simple mastoidectomy. This procedure involves removal of the diseased bone and cleaning of the affected area, after which a drain is inserted
Surgery to remove part of the bone and drain the mastoid (mastoidectomy) may be needed if antibiotic therapy is not successful. Surgical drainage of the middle ear through the eardrum (myringotomy) may be needed to treat the underlying middle ear infection.
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