Ongoing ear infection leaves man paralysed: case

The otherwise healthy man's ongoing otitis externa led to spinal abscesses and cervical cord syndrome

Doctors are being urged to watch for ‘red flags’ in patients with otitis externa, after a healthy middle-aged man became paralysed when his condition progressed to complete cervical cord syndrome.

The 54-year-old presented to his GP with a two-day history of worsening left-sided otorrhoea, headache, neck stiffness, vomiting and a fever of 40.3°C.