Objectives: To compare the therapeutic efficacies of aspiration plus intralesional steroid injection and aspiration plus pressure dressing for the management of otohematoma.
Study design and setting: Fifteen patients with otohematoma were treated by aspiration plus pressure dressing (the pressure dressing group) and 34 patients were treated with intralesional steroid injections followed by simple aspiration (the steroid injection group).
Results: Otohematoma resolved within four weeks in all 15 patients in the pressure dressing group, but eight of the 15 showed perichondrial thickening. The duration of treatment was shorter in the steroid injection group than in the pressure dressing group; 14 (41.2%) of the 34 recovered after the first injections and another 15 (44.1%) after the second, and the remaining 5 (14.7%) after the third without any complications. However, multiple steroid injections are needed due to a high early recurrence rate.
Conclusion: Intralesional steroid injection is the treatment of choice for the management of otohematoma. The correction of causative use of a hard pillow, a helmet, and headphones is essential to prevent late recurrence.