Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is an intractable otitis media with highly viscous middle ear effusion and is usually associated with bronchial asthma. Since the diagnostic criteria of EOM were ...established in 2011, the concept of EOM has been known worldwide. EOM is caused by Type 2 inflammation in the respiratory tract, similar to bronchial asthma and eosinophilic rhinosinusitis. With the appreciation of Type 2 inflammatory diseases, EOM is no longer considered to be a rare disease and should be specifically treated to improve quality of life. The diagnosis of EOM needs to be reconsidered because many reports have described varying pathogenesis and mechanisms of rare middle ear conditions. Systemic and topical administration of corticosteroids is presently the most effective treatment to control EOM. However, EOM treatments are developing because various biologics have been used to treat patients with bronchial asthma with and without eosinophilic rhinosinusitis and EOM. Surgical intervention is also no longer contraindicated with the use of biologics. These advances represent the beginning of a new stage of basic and clinical research for EOM. This review focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of EOM based on the most recent advances regarding EOM.
Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is an intractable otitis media characterized by a highly viscous effusion containing eosinophils, and it is mostly associated with bronchial asthma. Recently, ...anti-IL-5 therapy using mepolizumab has been reported to be effective for patients with severe and refractory eosinophilic bronchial asthma. EOM shows accumulation of eiosinophils in the middle ear effusion and most EOM patients have high numbers of peripheral blood eosinophils. Therefore, we carried out a retrospective study to determine whether anti-IL-5 therapy is also effective in the treatment of EOM.
Nine patients with EOM associated with bronchial asthma received the anti-IL-5 agent mepoliumab as an add-on therapy for at least 6 months (mepolizumab group). They were evaluated by EOM severity scores, symptom scores, bone conduction hearing levels, and surrogate markers before and after receiving the anti-IL-5 therapy. Thirteen EOM patients associated with bronchial asthma who did not receive the anti-IL-5 therapy were also included as controls (control group).
The severity scores of most patients in the mepolizumab group were dramatically reduced at 3 months after the initiation of this therapy and, as therapy continued, they further decreased to levels significantly lower than the baseline. However, two patients with a granulation type of EOM showed minimal improvement from the therapy. The severity scores of control patients showed no significant changes during the study period. Significant deterioration of the bone conduction hearing levels was not observed in either group. The number of peripheral blood eosinophils was significantly reduced, and eosinophils were scarcely observed in the middle ear effusion and middle ear mucosa after the mepolizumab therapy.
Anti-IL-5 therapy using mepolizumab was effective at inhibiting eosinophilic recruitment to the middle ear in patients with EOM. However, this therapy showed minimal effect on patients with the granulation type of EOM. Therefore, this therapy may be a viable treatment option for refractory EOM without severe mucosal change.
Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is histologically characterized by systemic necrotizing vasculitis and is clinically classified into two phases, systemic or ...localized. Recently, otologi- cal symptoms such as otitis media and hearing loss, not previously often associated with AAV, have been reported in AAV cases. In these cases we propose a diagnosis of otitis media with AAV (OMAAV). The ANCA titer is important for the diagnosis of OMAAV, and in most cases rapid progressive hearing loss is observed as localized AAV. Peripheral facial nerve palsy or hypertrophic pachymeningitis are coupled with 25% of cases and 18% of cases respectively. Proteinase 3-ANCA (PR3-ANCA) positive otitis media causes granulomatous formation or middle ear effusion in the middle ear, on the other hand myeloperoxidase-ANCA (MPO-ANCA) positive otitis media predominantly presents as otitis media with effusion. The early diagnosed case and the sensorineural hearing loss not progressed deaf could be recovered by the immunosuppressive therapy. Delayed diagnosis of AAV occasionally leads to progression to the irreversible phase; therefore, diagnosis at the early-localized stage is important for treating AAV. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of this newly proposed concept of OMAAV.
Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is an intractable otitis media mostly associated with bronchial asthma. Dupilumab, an anti-interleukin (IL)-4 receptor (R)α, is effective and has been approved for use ...in patients with moderate to severe bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, whose diseases are not controlled by previous treatments including other molecular targeted drugs. We aimed to assess efficacy of dupilumab in three EOM patients with associated bronchial asthma, who were poor responders to previous topical and systemic corticosteroid therapy and molecular targeted therapies.
Three patients with severe, refractory EOM (two with a granulation type) associated with bronchial asthma received dupilumab as add-on therapy for at least 6 months. The efficacy of dupilumab therapy was evaluated using severity scores, symptom scores, hearing acuities, temporal bone computed tomography (CT) scores, and surrogate markers before and after therapy.
Severity scores in all patients were dramatically reduced to 2 points or less (full score: 16 points) after initiation of therapy. Air conduction hearing levels were improved in all patients. Temporal bone CT scores in two patients were reduced, and serum IgE levels in all three patients also decreased following therapy.
We provide the first report that add-on dupilumab therapy was effective in patients with severe, refractory EOM who did not respond to the treatments including other molecular targeted therapy. Patients with severe middle ear mucosal change may benefit particularly from dupilumab therapy.
Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is an intractable type of otitis media in which sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) progresses over time. Clinically, bacterial infection complicates the course of EOM, ...making it challenging to control otorrhea/middle ear effusion (MEE) from infected ears, and accelerates the progression of SNHL. In this study, we focused on infection, one of the risk factors for SNHL in EOM, and analyzed factors associated with it.
In this cohort study, we evaluated 144 ears of 72 patients diagnosed with bilateral EOM. Patients visited our hospital once every 1–3 months and received intratympanic or systematic administration of steroids when otorrhea/MEE was observed. Several investigations, including blood tests, otorrhea/MEE cytology, bacterial culture tests, and respiratory function tests, were performed. In the otorrhea/MEE cytology, the leukocyte fraction was measured.
Two risk factors for SNHL in EOM were middle ear mucosal thickening (p <0.01) and infection (p <0.05). Compared to the group with <40% neutrophils in otorrhea/MEE samples, groups with 40–70% and ≥70% neutrophils had a significantly higher bone conduction hearing level (p <0.01, p <0.05, respectively). Two risk factors associated with the occurrence of infection in EOM were tympanic membrane (TM) perforation (p <0.01) and the coincidence of otorrhea/MEE and rhinorrhea in bacterial culture test results (p <0.001). A positive correlation was observed between TM perforation and infection (p <0.001). Our analysis of the relationship between the frequency of intratympanic corticosteroids administration and the time-period until the occurrence of TM perforation showed that >4 intratympanic administrations/year significantly increased the risk of perforation (p<0.001). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from otorrhea/MEE samples, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungi, detected in cultures of rhinorrhea samples, were significantly related to the deterioration of bone conduction hearing levels.
The risk factors associated with the occurrence of infection in patients with EOM were TM perforation and the coincidence of otorrhea/MEE and rhinorrhea in bacterial culture test results. Since TM perforation is likely to occur even due to intratympanic corticosteroids administration, it is necessary to confirm whether the frequency of treatment is appropriate and try a less invasive technique of administration. Furthermore, Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection poses a high risk for the development of SNHL, and clinicians should be alert to this possibility, even if the bacteria were identified only in cultures of rhinorrhea samples.
Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is intractable otitis media characterized by the presence of a highly viscous yellow effusion containing eosinophils. It occurs mainly in patients with bronchial ...asthma and is resistant to conventional treatments for otitis media. Here we discuss the clinical features, pathogenesis, and management of EOM. EOM predominantly affects women and presents most often in patients in their 50s. The clinical features of the middle ear in EOM are roughly divided into the otitis media with effusion type and chronic otitis media type. The latter is further divided into two subtypes: simple perforation and granulation tissue formation. EOM is often complicated by rhinosinusitis (eosinophilic sinusitis). High-tone loss is more frequently found and more severe in EOM patients than in chronic otitis media control patients, and EOM patients sometimes become deaf suddenly. Systemic or topical steroid administration is the most effective treatment for patients with EOM. The instillation of triamcinolone acetonide, a suspension of steroids, into the middle ear is very effective for controlling eosinophilic inflammation. It is very important to explain to patients with EOM that the disease may last for a long period and that progressive and sudden hearing loss may occur.
To determine whether myringoplasty can be an effective tool to control eosinophilic otitis media and improve hearing.
Severity scores for patients with eosinophilic otitis media with or without ...myringoplasty were retrospectively analyzed. Surgical outcomes were assessed and compared to those of patients with control: chronic otitis media with tympanic membrane perforation.
The average eosinophilic otitis media severity score for the patients with myringoplasty was significantly lower after than before surgery (P = 0.004), although the score for the group without myringoplasty remained stable during the study period. The success rate for graft uptake was 87.5%, and a statistically significant improvement was observed in the postoperative air conduction hearing level within the speech range (mean ± standard deviation; 41.5 ± 12.3 to 34.6 ± 9.22 dB; P = 0.0026) for patients with eosinophilic otitis media.
Myringoplasty contributed to decreased postoperative eosinophilic otitis media severity scores and should be considered to protect the patients from recurrent bacterial infections and pathogenic antigen parasitism in the middle ear.
Abstract Objective Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a newly recognized intractable middle ear disease, characterised by the accumulation of eosinophils in middle ear effusion and middle ear mucosa. ...Since EOM patients show gradual or sudden deterioration of hearing, it is important to properly diagnose EOM and to start adequate treatment for EOM. We aimed to investigate the clinical risk factors of EOM and to establish the diagnostic criteria of EOM. Patients and methods We reviewed 138 patients with EOM and 134 age-matched patients with the common type of otitis media with effusion or chronic otitis media as controls. We analyzed the incidence of the following clinical variables in both groups: bilaterality of otitis media, viscosity of middle ear effusion, formation of granulation tissue in the middle ear, response to the treatment for otitis media, deterioration of bone conduction hearing level, and association with other diseases such as bronchial asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, and allergic rhinitis. Results A high odds ratio was obtained from an association with bronchial asthma (584.5), resistance to conventional treatment for otitis media (232.2), viscous middle ear effusion (201.6), association with nasal polyposis (42.17), association with chronic rhinosinusitis (26.49), bilaterality (12.93), and granulation tissue formation (12.62). The percentage of patients with EOM who were positive for two or more among the highest four items was 98.55%. Conclusion A patient who shows otitis media with effusion or chronic otitis media with eosinophil-dominant effusion (major criterion) and with two or more among the highest four items (minor criteria), can be diagnosed as having EOM. Patients with ear symptoms should have the proper diagnosis of EOM using the proposed diagnostic criteria, and then can receive adequate treatment, resulting in prevention of deterioration of hearing and quality of life.
Objective: Recurrent otitis media and persistent otitis media with effusion in early childhood may cause an atelectatic eardrum and adhesive otitis media, which sometimes progress to pars tensa ...cholesteatoma. When and how children with adhesive otitis media should be operated on remain controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of children with adhesive otitis media and pars tensa cholesteatoma, and to determine the risk factors of progression to cholesteatoma.
Methods: Seventeen ears of 15 children with adhesive otitis media (adhesive group) and 14 ears of 13 children with pars tensa cholesteatoma (tensa cholesteatoma group) who underwent tympanoplasty were included in this study. We analyzed the following clinical characteristics of children in both groups: medical and life history, associated diseases, sites of the adhesion, and development and aeration of mastoid air cells as shown by temporal bone computed tomography.
Results: Most of the children in both groups had a history of recurrent otitis media and/or persistent otitis media with effusion. They showed a male predominance and a frequent association of allergic rhinitis. The number of ears showing undeveloped mastoid air cells in the tensa cholesteatoma group was significantly larger than that in the adhesive otitis media group (P=0.0068). A lack of aeration of the middle ear, including the eustachian tube, was more frequently found in ears with pars tensa cholesteatoma than in ears with adhesive otitis media (P=0.0012). Using multivariate logistic regression, the presence of otorrhea (odds ratio OR, 14.847; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.834–264.184), total adhesion (OR, 28.550; 95% CI, 0.962–847.508), and undeveloped mastoid air cells (OR, 19.357; 95% CI, 1.022–366.589) were related to pars tensa cholesteatoma.
Conclusion: Children with adhesive otitis media should be carefully followed up in the outpatient setting. Ears with poor mastoid development may develop pars tensa cholesteatoma. Additionally, ears with middle ear effusion, total adhesion, and the presence of otorrhea tend to be at risk of pars tensa cholesteatoma. Tympanoplasty or tympanostomy tube insertion should be considered for children with adhesive otitis media who have these risk factors to prevent progression to pars tensa cholesteatoma.
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