Middle ear tuberculosis--a series of 24 patients.

A study of 24 cases (25 ears) of tuberculous otitis media is revealed. Characteristic findings of the disease e.g. painless ottorhea and multiple perforations of the tympanic membrane, are not considered consistent with our findings of the clinical features of the pathology. Severe conductive hearing loss, abundant pale granulations and an eroded maleus handle consistently occurs in the pathology and in our opinion are more significant clinical features of the disease. As mixed infections are often present, histological examination of the granulation tissue from the middle ear and mastoid is the best diagnostic procedure. Treatment with anti-tuberculous therapy combined with surgery is shown to give good results.