It has been reported that some patients have been misdiagnosed with Refractory Otitis Media, when in fact the correct diagnosis in their specific case was Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissues like skeletal muscle, bladder and uterus. It usually affects children and symptoms can include headache, budging/swelling of the eyes, bleeding in the nose, throat or ears, trouble urinating, blood in the urine, difficulty with bowel movements, a mass or bleeding in the vagina or rectum, swelling or lump in a limb, and pain in the affected area. Rhabdomyosarcoma could be misdiagnosed as common conditions that normally occur in the region the cancer originates from. Like in the middle ear it can be mistaken for chronic suppurative otitis media. If not treated due to misdiagnosis rhabdomyosarcoma can metastasize to other areas of the body and become untreatable, causing death.