Clinical characteristics, the diagnostic criteria and management recommendation of otitis media with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (OMAAV) proposed by Japan Otological Society

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a form of necrotizing vasculitis with few or no immune deposits. It primarily affects small and medium blood vessels. AAV is classified into three categories, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangitis (EGPA), and two major ANCAs, proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA or myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA are involved in their pathogenesis. Intractable otitis media frequently occurs in patients with GPA, MPA or EGPA, although all patients show similar clinical features, regardless of the type of AAV. Furthermore, approximately 15% patients with otitis media caused by AAV do not show ANCA positivity, histopathological evidence, or any other AAV-related lesions at the initial visit; therefore, these patients do not fulfill the ordinary diagnostic criteria for systemic AAV. Thus, we first proposed that this condition could be categorized as “otitis media with AAV (OMAAV)”. Subsequently, the Japanese Otological Society (JOS) conducted a nationwide survey between December 2013 and February 2014 and identified 297 patients with OMAAV. The survey revealed that OMAAV is a disease that initially occurs in the middle ear and subsequently spreads to other organs such as the lungs and kidneys, with eventual involvement of all body organs. Severe sequelae such as facial palsy, hypertrophic pachymeningitis, complete deafness, and subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting in death can also occur. In this review, we introduce the clinical features, diagnostic criteria, and treatment strategies recommended by JOS for early diagnosis and treatment of OMAAV.