What Is Mastoiditis?

Mastoiditis is an acute suppurative inflammation of the mucosa and bone of the air cells of the mastoid, mostly developed from acute suppurative otitis media. Although the mastoid inflammatory lesions continue to develop, the systemic and local symptoms are not obvious, so that they are not detected, which is called recessive mastoiditis. If the acute mastoiditis cannot be controlled and the inflammation continues to develop, it can penetrate the mastoid bone wall and cause intracranial and extracranial complications.

Basic Information

English name

mastoiditis

Visiting department

ENT

Multiple groups

child

Common locations

ear

Common causes

Because children's body resistance is weak, disease-causing virulence, or improper treatment and so on

Common symptoms

Mastoid skin is swollen and flushed, with obvious tenderness, redness and swelling, pus with collapse, cloudy air in the air room, cloud-like, etc.

Causes of mastoiditis

More common in children. Due to weak body resistance, strong pathogenic virulence, or improper treatment, inflammation in the middle ear continues to develop, the tympanic sinus entrance is blocked by swollen mucosa, pus in the mastoid drains poorly, and it accumulates in the mastoid air cell Inside, the bone wall is affected by pus pressure and its own inflammatory lesions, forming a large pus cavity, called fusion mastoiditis or papillary pus. Acute mastoiditis caused by hemolytic streptococcus or influenzae is called hemorrhagic mastoiditis. Although acute otitis media is treated, due to insufficient antibiotics, mastoid inflammatory lesions continue to develop, but systemic and local symptoms are not obvious, so that they are not detected, which is called recessive mastoiditis. If acute mastoiditis cannot be controlled, inflammation continues to develop, which can cause intracranial and extracranial complications.

Clinical manifestations of mastoiditis

1. Mastoid skin is swollen, flushed, and has tenderness.

2. The posterior upper wall of the external auditory canal bone is swollen and collapsed; the perforation of the tympanic membrane is small, the pus pulsates at the perforation, and the amount of pus is large;

3. X-ray film of the mastoid process showed that the tympanic sinus and mastoid air cells were cloudy and cloudy in early stage.

4. Leukocyte count increased and polymorphonuclear cells increased.

Mastoiditis examination

Patients can usually have a blood test, an X-ray or CT scan of the mastoid, and an audiological examination can help diagnose the condition.

Mastoiditis diagnosis

It is not difficult to draw a diagnosis based on clinical manifestations and related examinations.

Mastoiditis treatment

Large-dose antibiotic injections, such as penicillins and cephalosporins, should be used early. In order to control the disease as soon as possible, a combination of penicillin and streptomycin was injected at the beginning, and ear canal secretions were taken for bacterial culture and drug sensitivity tests in order to switch to sensitive drugs. If the perforation of the tympanic membrane is small, the drainage of pus is not smooth, or the tympanic membrane is not perforated, the tympanic membrane incision should be performed to facilitate drainage. If an abscess has formed behind the ear, the incision can be drained. If drainage is not smooth, infection is not controlled, or suspicious complications occur, mastoidectomy should be performed immediately.

Mastoiditis prevention

1. Active and timely treatment of acute otitis media.

2. After the occurrence of acute mastoiditis, it will rupture itself and expand outward within a certain period of time. A simple mastoid incision should be performed in time to remove the purulent drainage at the middle ear and mastoid to prevent It expands outward to form an abscess behind the ear and expands inward to form intracranial complications such as meningitis.

3. The patient's physical health should be improved, nutrition should be enhanced, sufficient protein and vitamin diet should be provided, and resistance should be strengthened.