Pathological Characteristics of External nd Middle Ear Lesion; A five-year Study in Yazd, Iran

IntroductionTumors of the ear are sort of common tumors that are 6% of skin cancers. These tumors depending on the affected location are divided into three locations: external ear, middle ear and inner ear… more than 15 to 20 percent of visits by family physicians and emergency department are related to middle and external ear disorders. Unfortunately, despite the relatively high prevalence of lesions in the ear, these are less frequent diagnosed by physicians and early diagnosis of these lesions is less than the desired level. This study was aimed to evaluate the pathological characteristics of external and middle ear lesions in a five-year period in Yazd, Iran. Materials and methodsThis retrospective analytical study was carried out on resection samples of external and middle ear taken during 2012-2016 in Shahid Sadoughi hospital in Yazd, Iran. Data were gathered using a questionnaire consisting of variables such as age, sex, clinical symptoms and anatomical side of the lesion, pathology findings. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver.17 by chi square and Fisher exact test. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. ResultsA total of 295 patients with external and middle ear lesions were analyzed, including 180 (61%) men and 115 (39.9%) women with an overall mean age 33.26±12.8 (range: 1-67 years). The most frequent cases were Colestheatoma (31.5%) and the least of them was related to sebaceous cysts, Chondrodermatitis Nodularis, Angioma and B.C. Fistula (0.7%) (P value=0.01). These lesions were mostly seen in patients aged 20-29 (24.1%) and less frequently seen in under 10 year old patients (2%). Malignant lesions were mostly affected the left side (P value=0.73). In this study the majority of lesions were benign (81.7%) and the anatomical location of lesions mostly was middle ear (57.3%) (P value=0.49).ConclusionThe majority of lesions were benign and most affected by the left and middle ear. Malignant lesions (BCCs and SSCs) were found mostly in older men (aged over 70) in the outer and the left ear. It was considerable that benign lesions were 4 times more frequent than malignant lesions. Considering that external and middle ear lesions affect most young and middle-aged children and in other words affects the active part of society, it is recommended that educational issues such as annual examination and screening and preventive notes by a qualified doctor in the directions of the Ministry of health.

Keywords:

Pathology , External Ear , Middle Ear , Chondrodermatitis , Nodularis Helicis , Yazd , Iran