ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is one of the most common reasons for children to seek doctors. Although it is closely related to bacterial infection, the pathogenesis remains unclear. The most common bacteria associated with OME include Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), and Moraxella catarrhais (M. catarrahalis). These bacteria have consistently been reported to show colony growth on agar. Recently, the analysis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been reported to be much more sensitive for bacteria detection than previous methods, such as culture. In this study, we investigate the possible relationship between bacterial infection in adenoid tissue and middle ear effusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total of 52 middle ear effusion and adenoids were collected from pediatric patients during ventilation tube insertion and adenoidectomy. All the patients had gone through multiple courses of antimicrobial therapies without success. PCR was applied to detect bacteria(H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae, M. catarrha lis) in the middle ear effusion and adenoids. RESULTS: Overall detection rates of bacteria were 57.7% and 46.2% for effusion and adenoids, respectively. Bacterial detection rates of H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis in the middle ear effusion were 30.8%, 19.2%, 11.5%, and in the adenoid were 36.5%, 15.4%, 13.5%, and in both and effusion were 13.5%, 7.7%, 3.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: PCR is the effective method for detection of bacteria in OME and adenoid tissue. The bacteria found in the adenoid tissue of chronic OME patients did not show any correlation with those found in the OME fluid.