Mastoiditis

Does mastoiditis always present with the classic triad of swelling behind the ear, otalgia, and protrusion of the auricle? Do you need to get a CT to make the diagnosis? What is the exact relationship with acute otitis media? Can swimmer’s ear turn into mastoiditis? These questions and more are why I recorded this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. PEMBlog.com @PEMTweets on Twitter The Facebook page References Geva et al. Conservative management of acute mastoiditis in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2008;72(5):629. Groth et al. Acute mastoiditis in children aged 0-16 years–a national study of 678 cases in Sweden comparing different age groups. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;76(10):1494. Leskinen et al. Complications of acute otitis media in children. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2005;5(4):308. Thompson et al. Effect of antibiotics for otitis media on mastoiditis in children: a retrospective cohort study using the United kingdom general practice research database. Pediatrics. 2009;123(2):424. van den Aardweg  et al. A systematic review of diagnostic criteria for acute mastoiditis in children. Otol Neurotol. 2008;29(6):751.