Mucormycosis of the Temporal Bone

Abstract

Mucormycosis of the temporal bone is described in a 60-year-old female with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus whose symptoms related to cranial nerve palsies and hearing loss, following spread of infection from the nasopharynx. The infection spread along the eustachian tube and tensor tympani muscle to the base of the skull, involving the internal carotid artery with mycotic thrombosis and rupture. Subsequent spread occurred from this area predominantly along nerve pathways and as mycotic emboli in blood vessels of the labyrinth and middle ear. Infection also spread from the anterior middle ear wall through the oval window into the vestibule. The temporal bone changes were those of granulomatous inflammation with necrosis and ischemic infarction.