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Ear Disorders Case Studies

Decent Essays

Ear Disorders
Part A.
Otorhinolaryngological conditions may vary in severity. While some conditions are relatively simple to diagnose and manage, other diseases are complex and have increased mortality rates. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is an emergent perilous and invasive condition caused by a fungi of the Zygomycetes class (Petrikkos et al., 2012). Mucormycosis is an uncommon but evolving fungal infection that mainly affects immunosuppressed patients. According to Petrikkos et al. (2012), invasive mucormycosis is most commonly reported in sites such as sinuses (39%) and lungs (24%), with an overall mortality rate of 44% in diabetics. Furthermore, rhinocerebral mucormycosis is the principal form of this fungal infection in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Rhinocerebral mucormycosis develops from the inhalation of fungal spores into the paranasal sinuses and eventual invasion of the adjacent tissues, including the cerebral vasculatures. Early symptoms of this fungal infection include sinus tenderness, periorbital cellulitis, facial pain, numbness, eyelid edema, headache, fever, …show more content…

Ear disorders vary in history and presentation particularly with age. In the case of otitis media, infants, children, and adults, may present with different symptoms. For example, neonates with acute otitis media may only present appetite changes and irritability. On the other hand, older children may present fever, otalgia, and ear tugging. However, adults usually present hearing loss with effusion and ear stuffiness (Pensak & Choo, 2015).
In the case of otitis externa, neonates exhibit inflammation of the acoustic meatus and fever, while older children may present otalgia, pruritus, and tenderness of the tragus and/ or pinna (Buttaravoli & Leffler, 2012). Adults with otitis externa may have the following symptoms; tinnitus, hearing loss, pruritus. Nonetheless, otitis externa appears is common in older children aged 7-12 and young adult population (Tarazi, Al-Tawfiq, & Abdi,

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