A case of otogenic (cholesteatoma) sinus thrombophlebitis with an early embolic abscess in the left upper lobe of the lung and Bezold's descending abscess deep into the right sternomastoid muscle in a man, aged 29, is reported. The patient soon developed uremia resulting from bilateral hemorrhagic renal infarction and expired.
The patient was also complicated by otitic hydrocephalus.
The serious intracranial complications of otogenic origin have decreased in incidence during the past two decades due to the introduction of antibiotics and steroid therapy. However, the authors believe that otologists still need to realize the potential dangers of otitis media since the emergence of “cold or masked mastoiditis” as a new entity resulting from failure of antibiotic therapy.