Silent otitis media: an autopsy study in stillborns and neonates

Sixty temporal bones of 30 stillborns and neonates who died of causes other than septicemia were examined by histopathologic methods for evidence of otitis media and persistence of mesenchymal tissue. The incidence of silent otitis media is 23.3% in this study. Mesenchymal tissue was observed in 6 temporal bones that showed evidence of otitis media. The role of mesenchymal tissue as a causative or immunologic factor, however, needs further evaluation.