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Abducens nerve palsy as the sole presenting symptom of petrous apicitis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

T. Price
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
G. Fayad
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, St. George’s Hospital, London, UK.

Abstract

Petrous apicitis as a potentially fatal complication of suppurative otitis media presents in a variety of forms. Gradenigo’s triad of abducens paralysis, deep facial pain due to trigeminal involvement and acute suppurative otitis media rarely occurs. The conflicting symptoms reported in the literature usually result in the delayed recognition of the condition with potentially disastrous consequences. The VIth nerve palsy is considered to be the least reliable sign as it is least often present. We present a case in which it was the sole presenting symptom.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2002

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