What is auricular perichondritis?
Auricular perichondritis (also called pinna perichondritis) is an infectious and inflammatory condition of the external ear that usually occurs secondary to trauma (i.e., high ear piercing, blunt trauma, burns, iatrogenic), which leads to the infection, with or without abscess formation [1].
How do you treat perichondritis?
Treatment consists of antibiotics, either by mouth or directly into the bloodstream through an intravenous (IV) line. Antibiotics can be given for 10 days to several weeks. If there is a trapped collection of pus, you may need surgery. The surgery is done to drain this fluid and remove any dead skin and cartilage.
What antibiotics treat ear cartilage?
Antibiotics with good coverage against Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus species (e.g., fluoroquinolones) should be used when treating piercing-associated infections of the auricular cartilage.
What is a possible serious complication of perichondritis if untreated?
Without treatment, perichondritis can lead to “cartilage necrosis,” which means the cartilage in your ear dies. This complication results when the flow of blood to the cartilage is blocked by the buildup of pus caused by the infection. Without this blood supply, the cartilage dies.
Can you treat perichondritis without antibiotics?
If left untreated, perichondritis will lead to cartilage necrosis and resulting in minor cosmetic deformity or ‘cauliflower ear. ‘ The infection can also spread beyond the pinna and cause the patient to become systemically unwell, needing intravenous antibiotics and hospital admission.
How long does it take for perichondritis to heal?
With prompt diagnosis and treatment with antibiotic therapy, the symptoms should settle in 2 or 3 days. However, symptoms such as pain can persist for up to a month.
How long does perichondritis take to heal?
What is the difference between Polychondritis and perichondritis?
Differences between perichondritis and polychondritis Polychondritis is characterized by cartilage swelling and it affects to articulate, vision and cardiovascular. This may occur in different areas of the body. Moreover, it is an inflammatory multisystem disease. Perichondritis, instead, affects solely to the pinna.
What is perichondritis of the ear?
Background: Perichondritis is an infection of the connective tissue of the ear that covers the cartilaginous auricle or pinna, excluding the lobule ( Caruso 2014 ). The term perichondritis is itself a misnomer, as the cartilage is almost always involved, with abscess formation and cavitation ( Prasad 2007 ).
How is perichondritis diagnosed and treated?
Diagnosis and Management: The diagnosis of perichondritis is clinical via physical exam. Patients initially experience dull pain, which gradually develops into severe otalgia with a purulent discharge (Noel 1989). Early cases are marked by erythema, swelling, and tenderness of the auricle without notable fluctuance (Chun 2013).
How is a nidus of infection identified in perichondritis?
A nidus of infection may be able to be identified within the superior fossae, though often will be absent. Complete clinical examination should exclude tenderness or fluctuance of the mastoid process of the temporal bone, as well as facial, orbital, or middle ear involvement. Perichondritis in an 8-year-old boy.
Is perichondritis of the pinna caused by cartilage?
Misnomer as the cartilage is almost always involved with abscess formation and cavitation Perichondritis of the pinna.