Abstract
We report Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as a cause of Gradenigo’s syndrome, a rare complication of suppurative otitis media
(OM). The clinical triad of sixth nerve palsy, OM and pain in the distribution of
trigeminal nerve constitute the diagnosis of Gradenigo’s syndrome. Common organisms
that have been recovered include; Group A Streptococcus, Pneumococcus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our aim is to report the first case of Gradenigo’s syndrome caused by S. maltophilia, an aerobic, non-fermentative, Gram-negative bacterium which causes uncommon but
difficult to treat infections in humans. Rare pathogens such as S. maltophilia should be included in the differential diagnosis of organisms causing complicated
non-responding OM even if the host is immunocompetent.
Keywords
S. maltophilia
- Gradenigo’s syndrome - otitis media
