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DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1639921
Otalgia as a prodromal symptom of infectious cutaneous diseases
The etiology of otalgia can be diverse. Among the possible causes are infectious cutaneous diseases of the external ear like erysipelas, herpes zoster, impetigo contagiosa, diphtheria, and malignant otitis externa. They are relatively rare in ORL practice, can have atypical course and present initially with otalgia without cutaneous lesions, which can lead to misdiagnosing.
We present several of our patients with erysipelas and herpes zoster, who came to us with otalgia as an early and only prodromal symptom. During the follow up they developed specific clinical symptoms (cutaneous lesions) and were directed for further medical treatment to the Department of Dermatology.
It is essential to have in mind the infectious cutaneous diseases in patients with “otalgia without an obvious reason”, follow up those patients closely, and collaborate with the competent specialists as early as possible.
Publication History
Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)
© 2018. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Stuttgart · New York