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Article: Chronic suppurative otitis media: A clinical overview.
- Article from:
- Ear, Nose and Throat Journal
- Article date:
- August 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Vendome Group LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There is no widely agreed-upon definition of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). I consider CSOM to be purulent otorrhea that persists for more than 6 weeks despite treatment. This definition is not one that you most often see in the literature or one that is used in clinical trials because, technically speaking, a chronic tympanic membrane perforation that is clean and dry is often referred to as chronic otitis media. By my definition, mastoiditis is invariably a part of the pathologic process, but cholesteatoma is not.
Pathogenesis
CSOM can occur in two ways. Some patients develop CSOM as a result of an earlier episode of otitis media that did not ...