Successful prolonged conservative treatment of Gradenigo's syndrome in a 4-year-old girl: A case report and literature review

Gradenigo's syndrome, one of the complications of middle ear infection, is characterised by persistent otorrhoea, pain in the region innervated by the first and second divisions of the trigeminal nerve and ipsilateral abducens nerve palsy. We report the case of a 4-year-old girl with Gradenigo's syndrome. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging provided evidence of infection of the apex of the petrous temporal bone. The patient received an appropriate antibiotic therapy but the recurrence of symptoms responded to the prolongation of a conservative treatment without surgical intervention.