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Technetium99 Methylene Diphosphate bone scanning has been considered an early valuable tool to diagnose necrotizing progressive "malignant" external otitis. However, to our knowledge, no formal studies have actually compared bone scans of otherwise young, healthy patients with severe external otitis to scans of patients with clinical presentation of malignant external otitis. Twelve patients with only severe external otitis were studied with Technetium99 Diphosphate and were compared to known cases of malignant otitis. All scans were evaluated by two neuroradiologists with no prior knowledge of the clinical status of the patients. Nine of the 12 patients had positive bone scans with many scans resembling those reported with "malignant" external otitis. Interestingly, there was no consistent correlation between the severity of clinical presentation and the amount of Technetium uptake. These findings suggest that a positive bone scan alone should not be interpreted as indicative of "malignant" external otitis.

\s=b\The efficacy and safety of minocycline were compared with that of amoxicillin in the treatment of 58 patients with acute bacterial sinusitis. The most frequently isolated pathogens were streptococci, staphylococci, and Haemophilus influenzae. After therapy for a mean time of 11 days, clinical cure or improvement and bacterial eradication were evident in 100% of the patients treated with minocycline and in 95% of the patients treated with amoxicillin. Roentgenographic results indicated clearing or improvement in 91% of the minocycline recipients and in 70% of those who received amoxicillin. These differences between treatments were not statistically significant. A low incidence of generally mild adverse clinical experiences occurred in both treatment groups. Thus, minocycline and amoxicillin were equally safe and effective in the treatment of these patients with acute bacterial sinusitis.

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