Piercing associated perichondritis of the pinna: are we treating it correctly?

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports a series of patients with sporadic pinna perichondritis who presented to a district general hospital over a period of 10 years. The data examined included the causative organism, risk factors and pattern of antibiotic use. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of diagnosed cases of pinna perichondritis from 2001 to 2012 was performed. A literature review of pinna perichondritis was carried out using Pubmed with the key words 'pinna perichondritis', 'pinna abscess', 'pinna infection' and 'piercing'. RESULTS: Pinna perichondritis was more likely to result from chondral than lobe piercings. The majority of cases were caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: Most patients were not prescribed anti-pseudomonal antibiotics on presentation. This may result in persistent infection and long-term cosmetic defects.