Fungal malignant otitis externa

Abstract

An 89-year-old man presented to the outpatient clinic with a 2-month history of persistent unilateral left-sided otalgia, otorrhoea and reduced hearing despite oral and topical antibiotics. Treatment was protracted, requiring a 4-month hospital admission for intravenous antifungal medication as well as 3 further months of oral antifungal treatment. We describe the clinical presentation, complications and treatment of this potentially fatal condition in the context of an unusual, and easily missed, causative organism.