Petrous bone fractures in children: risk of meningitis, and indication for early Cochlear implant?

Abstract

The case of a 5 year old boy who had a right petrous bone fracture with right CSF otorrhea and deafness is reported. This child presented, three years after the trauma, a right side otitis media, complicated by meningitis and pneumococcal sepsis, which might have as consequence a left side deafness. The bilateral deafness and the early possibility for cochlear ossification made us decide rapidly on a cochlear implant. Benjamin was then operated for a left side cochlear implant 40 days after contracting meningitis. Two months later, this boy was able to understand a speech without lip reading. Current concepts in the management of petrous bone fractures with CSF otorrhea are reviewed in this report. We also discussed prophylactic attitudes to adopt to reduce the risk of post temporal bone fracture meningitis.