Acute otomastoiditis in the leukemic child.

We report three leukemic children undergoing chemotherapy who presented severe otomastoiditis with sensorineural hearing loss. They all developed a sub-total perforation of the tympanic membrane within a few days and one child sustained necrosis of the middle ear mucosa and diffuse destruction of the mastoids. Hearing tests showed severe sensorineural hearing loss in the ears affected. The evolution of the disease is reminiscent of a preantibiotic era pathology known as "acute necrotizing otitis media". A management program is proposed for the treatment of otitis media in leukemic patients receiving chemotherapy.