Intracranial complications of acute otitis media and Gradenigo's syndrome.

We describe the case of a 12-year-old girl with acute otitis media complicated by acute mastoiditis, epidural empyema, thrombosis of the sigmoid sinus and paralysis of the abducens nerve. The patient underwent a mastoidectomy on the left side combined with drainage of the epidural empyema through an extended burr holl and received intravenous antibiotics for 6 weeks and anticoagulation for 12 weeks. This report discusses the intracranial complications of acute otitis media, which were a common problem before the advent of adequate antibiotic drugs but have become rare since their introduction.