Tubercular otitis media: sources and routes of infection

THE CONTEXT

Tubercular infection of the middle ear is usually secondary to tuberculosis elsewhere, particularly in the lungs.

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Most cases are secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis, with infection reaching the middle ear through the eustachian tube.

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Blood-borne infection sometimes arises from a tubercular focus in the lungs, tonsils, cervical lymph nodes or mesenteric lymph nodes.

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The disease is mostly seen in children and young adults.

NEETx

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