Atomoxetine associated red ear: A case report

Abstract

Red ear syndrome is defined as mostly unilateral burning pain and redness of external ear. It has two forms idiopathic and secondary. Idiopathic red ear syndrome is mostly seen in young people and associated with migraine. Secondary red ear syndrome is more frequent in adults and releated with cervical disorder. Our patient was a 10 year old boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and spesific learning disorder. He had a complaint of redness in his ear, following the atomoxetine treatment for ADHD. The redness was appearing after taking atomoxetine in 1 hour. The redness in his ear was unilateral and lasted in 4 hours. Sometimes headaches were accompanied with red ear. After atomoxetine treatment was ceased the redness and the headache in his ear were dissappered. In the pathophysiology of red ear sydrome there is a disregulation of sympathic outflow. Atomoxetine has a high selectivity for noradrenergic receptors and also has an effect on periferic noradrenergic receptors. Atomoxetine could change the sympathic vasodilation/vasoconstruction balance and cause red ear. Although the red ear is not a life threating situation, it could cause discomfort and anxiety, so the clinicians should keep in mind red ear syndrome while using atomoxetine. To our best knowledge this is the first red ear case associated with atomoxetinein literature.