Mastoid cells are communicating with the middle ear and the pus that forms in the middle ear in all cases of acute otitis media It flows into the mastoid cells.
In some rare cases, the infection involves the periosteum and the bone causing a Osteitis, process underlying the acute mastoiditis proper.
The mastoiditis is characterized by earache, ovattamento headset, fever, ear swelling sore that displace the auricle anteriorly and laterally.
The pus can cut through bone and get underneath the skin behind the ear or flowing into the neck, in other cases much more severe pus can get inside the skull causing a brain abscess.
The acute mastoiditis is a serious infection that needs often intravenous antibiotic therapy.
In many cases the antibiotics fail to arrive at the infected bone and surgery is needed to remove diseased bone which mastoidectomy.
