Rare case of otomastoiditis due to Coxiella burnetii chronic infection.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii that usually presents with non-specific or benign constitutional symptoms. Diagnosis is often challenging and, after acute Q fever, 1%-5% of patients can develop chronic disease. We present an 80-year-old male patient who was admitted due to a 3 months history of fever, productive cough, myalgia, weight loss, headache and hearing loss. Chronic Q fever was confirmed by positive antiphase I immunoglobulin G. Frequent locations of chronic infection was discarded, and ear CT revealed a right mastoid infection. He was treated with doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine for 18 months with significant improvement. This is a rare case of chronic Q fever presenting with otomastoiditis that has never been described. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.