[Fatal complications of otitis 60 years ago].

The temporal bone collection of the ENT Department of the Charité Hospital in Berlin contains 128 cases from 1924 to 1941 of fatal complications of acute otitis media and cholesteatoma. In 1927 alone, one patient died on average every 2 weeks at Charité Hospital from fatal otitic disease. Lesions include labyrinthitis, meningitis, sinus thrombosis and brain abscess. Each case is documented by clinical history, autopsy findings and temporal bone sections. The reasons for the various features of each illness are briefly discussed.