Acute Upper Respiratory Infection and Suppurative Otitis Media
Suppurative otitis media is the severe form of disease of the middle ear and can be grouped into two clinical course. The Acute and the Chronic.
Acute otitis media is a severe form of disease which involves inflammation of the middle ear cleft due to pyogenic organisms. It is mostly due to viral infection of the upper respiratory tract through which the pyogenic organisms invade the ear. The most frequent organisms responsible for this infection are streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, Moraxella catarrhalis and sometimes streptococcus pyrogens, staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa.
There are different route of infection but the most common is via the Eustachian tube because infection travels via the lumen of tube or along the sub epithelial peritubal lymphatics.
In infants and younger children the Eustachian tube is shorter, wider and more horizontal thus they are at higher risk than Adults. Other routes are via external ear when there is traumatic perforations of tympanic membrane or via blood which is a less common route.
The predisposing factors could be recurrent attacks of common cold, upper respiratory tract infection, nasal allergy, chronic sinusitis and rhinitis, infection of tonsils and adenoids.
The disease follows through 4 main clinical stages. Stage of tubal occlusion, presuppuration, suppuration, resolution or complications. The main clinical features are conductive hearing loss, pain, otorrhoea, pyrexia and hyperemic tympanic membrane.
Chronic Suppurative otitis media is a chronic infection of middle ear characterized by tympanic membrane perforations during chronic discharge. The rate of occurrence has been reported to be higher both in children and Adults but most common in children because the disease starts in childhood. The risk factors associated with CSOM are recurrent episodes of acute otitis media and chronic secretory media others are related to insufficient health care and low socioeconomic status.
CSOM can be classified clinically into two types according to its anatomical relation. Tubotympanic and Atticoantral. Pathological changes seen in this disease are perforation of pars tensa, middle ear mucosa polyp, osicullar chain, Tympanosclerosis, fibrosis and adhesions. Clinical features are ear discharge, hearing loss, perforations and middle ear mucosa.
Otitis media can be differentiated from myringitis, mastoiditis, cholesteatoma, otitis media with effusion.
Acute Upper Respiratory Infection
Young or Old, weak or strong, we have all had to miss school or work days due to the dreaded running nose, itchy throat, fever sneezing and weakness. These are all symptoms of Acute Upper Respiratory Tract. Infection better known as “The Common Cold”.
Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infection is a infection of the upper respiratory tract …
