Summary

 

Background: 

Perichondritis of the auricle is a serious disease that may lead to residual deformity. 

Objectives:

To assess our experience with perichondritis in a large group of patients hospitalized with this entity.

Methods: 

We retrospectively studied 114 patients who were admitted with perichondritis during 1987–2004, including their demographic details, medical history, current illness, etiology, pathogens and treatments. 

Results: 

The patients’ mean age was 41.8 ± 20.7 years. In more than half of the patients the etiology could not be determined. Forty-seven patients (41%) were treated prior to hospitalization for an average of 2.5 ± 1.9 days. Eight patients (7%) required surgical intervention. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found to be the predominant organism (69% of available isolates) and was associated with a more advanced clinical presentation and longer hospitalization (P = 0.008). 

Conclusions: 

 Perichondritis develops in many cases after apparent minor trauma. Since P. aeruginosa is probably the predominant pathogen, initial treatment should include anti-pseudomonal antibiotics.