[Clinical diagnosis and treatment progress of acute otitis externa]

Acute otitis externa(AOE) is defined as diffuse inflammation of the external ear canal skin or subdermis occurred in 3 weeks,which sometimes may also involve the pinna or tympanic membrane.Clinical manifestations include:otalgia,itching,fullness,sometimes with hearing loss.The hallmark sign of AOE is tenderness with movement of the tragus or pinna AOE Often occurs in adults or children older than age of 2,while little morbidity in children under the age of 2.Lifetime incidence is up to 10% in a persons life.Recently,a lot of different versions of the AOE clinical practice guidelines were published abroad.In this review ,the etiology,diagnose,therapy,prevention,are comprehensive described,which on the basis of evidence-based medicine.