Table 3. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the infection-uncontrolled and controlled groups.

			Infection-uncontrolled ( n  = 5)	Controlled ( n  = 8)	p -Value
Patients' background
Age (y)			80.4 (72–90)	70.4 (60–87)	0.06
Sex		Male	5	6	0.36
		Female	0	2
Immunocompromised status (diabetes mellitus, steroid use, etc.)		Yes	5	5	0.20
		No	0	3
Symptoms
Period from onset to the start of treatment (days)			192.0 (25–490)	81.8 (18–157)	0.29
Severe pain (opioid use)		Yes	4	5	0.49
		No	1	3
Fever (>38°C)		Yes	1	1	0.64
		No	4	7
Refractory external otitis		Yes	4	8	0.38
		No	1	0
Cranial nerve palsy		Yes	3	2	0.25
(Solitary VII palsy)			(1)	(1)
(Other nerve palsy [IX, X, XII])			(2)	(1)
		No	2	6
Pretreatment laboratory data
HbA1c (%)			6.9 (6.1–8.0)	7.3 (5.2–12.2)	0.74
ESR (mm/h)			105.0 (67–143)	85.0 (58–111)	0.39
CRP (mg/dL)			6.2 (0.35–12.6)	7.0 (1.16–30.35)	0.87
Bacteria	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Yes	4	3	0.18
		No	1	5
	Fungi	Yes	2	2	0.51
		No	3	6
Treatment
Intravenous antibiotic administration		Yes	5	7	0.62
		No	0	1
Surgery		Yes	0	3	0.20
		No	5	5
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy		Yes	2	5	0.41
		No	3	3
Infection control team intervention		Yes	3	6	0.51
		No	2	2

Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; Hb, hemoglobin.