Cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) otorrhea is a dangerous and potentially life threatening occurrence for which the otolaryngologist is often consulted. CSF otorrhea occurs on the basis of skull fracture, tumor, infections, congenital anomalies, and operative trauma. Forty-three patients with CSF otorrhea of varied etiology are reviewed in this paper. Eight cases are of congenital or labyrinthine origin confirming at surgery the probable connection between the subarachnoid and perilymphatic spaces. Eleven cases had spinal fluid otorrhea due to infection. All cases presented with symptoms of chronic infection: 4 cases had a history of previous surgery for chronic ear disease; 7 cases had temporal lobe abscess; 1 case had a cerebellar abscess; 8 had tegmen defects secondary to cholesteatoma; in 1 case the tegmen defect was due to previous surgery for chronic infection. Nine of 11 cases have serviceable hearing postoperatively. Fourteen cases of spinal fluid otorrhea resulted from trauma: 1 case was due to traumatic stapes footplate fracture in a congenitally malformed ear; 4 were due to transverse temporal bone fracture; and 9 were due to longitudinal temporal bone fractures. All transverse fractures resulted in nonhearing ears. Three cases were due to a combination of temporal bone fracture and infection. In 2 of these cases chronic infection preceded the fracture; in 1 case the fracture led to chronic ear disease with spinal fluid leakage. One patient required 1 surgical procedure for closure of the otorrhea, 1 patient 2 procedures, and 1 patient 3 procedures. Ten cases are due to translabyrinthine acoustic neuroma removal: 7 cases had resolution of the spinal fluid leakage after conservative nonsurgical treatment; and 3 required surgical intervention using muscle, fat and fascia obliteration of the spinal fluid pathway.