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At the recent meeting of the American Neurotology Society (April 24 to 25, 1987), Denver, Loren Bartels, MD, of the University of South Florida, Tampa, presented a detailed case report of a 10-year-old girl with bilateral chronic middle ear infections with sequestered glomus tumors, as well as a review of pediatric glomus tumors.
Dr Bartels and his coauthor, M. Gurucharri, MD, cited five other case reports of pediatric glomus tumors, two of which were bilateral. The youngest patient cited in the series was 11 months old, while the majority of patients were 10 to 12 years of age. Noting that glomus tympanicum tumors were more common than the more aggressive glomus jugulare tumors, the authors emphasized that signs of chronic infection often masked the underlying tumors. Tinnitus and otorrhea were the most common symptoms. However, evidence of catecholamine secretion was present in nearly half the cases discussed.
Cognizant of the