Clinical presentation of posterior fossa epidermoid cysts.

The aim of this study was to investigate the audiovestibular deficits in those with posterior fossa epidermoid cyst including cerebellopontine angle in two patients and cerebellum in one patient. Prior to operation, all three patients showed bilateral gaze nystagmus. Audiometry revealed mild hearing loss in two patients, and caloric test displayed canal paresis in two patients. After operation, subsidence of gaze nystagmus and recovery of caloric responses were disclosed in all patients. Two patients had both hearing and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) results recovered to normal. In contrast, the only one who underwent craniotomy twice displayed bilateral mild hearing loss and delayed VEMPs, possibly due to operation sequela. Hence, bilateral gaze nystagmus may present as an initial sign for posterior fossa epidermoid cyst. Audiovestibular deficits in cases of epidermoid cyst are attributable to compression neuropathy, which may resolve and return to normal responses after surgery.

Tuberculous pyomyositis of the temporal muscle in a nonimmunocompromised woman: diagnosis by sonography.

Pyomyositis (PM) is an uncommon cause of acute bacterial infection occurring in skeletal muscle. This disease is rare in non-tropical areas, and PM caused by Mycobacterium is very rare in a non-immunocompromised person. The presence of temporal area swelling may lead to a differential diagnosis toward more common pathologies, such as a complication of mastoiditis or a neoplasm of the temporal area. This article describes a case of tuberculous pyomyositis in a non-immunocompromised woman, the diagnosis of which was confirmed by sonographically guided fine-needle aspiration.

Changes in bacteriology of discharging ears.

A bacteriological study on 161 consecutive out-patients presenting with otorrhoea was performed prospectively at a local teaching hospital in Taiwan between August 2000 and June 2001. A total of 177 isolates were recovered. Staphylococcus aureus was found in 77 (43.5 per cent) isolates, and non-Staphylococcus aureus in 100 (56.5 per cent) isolates. Pseudomas sp was found to be the most common pathogen (28.8 per cent) in the non-Staphylococcus aureus group. Staphylococcus aureus had become more common than Pseudomonas aeruginosa in acute otitis externa, granular myringitis, and chronic otitis media in Taiwan. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was also an increasing problem in all three disease entities. The prevalence of community-acquired MRSA infections in discharging ears was found to be 13.7 per cent (22/161). MRSAs were highly susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin, fusidic acid, and minocycline. More studies should be done to determine the susceptibility of MRSA to ofloxacin in the future.