Microbiological profile of chronic suppurative otitis media presenting to a tertiary care teaching hospital – A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is one of the most frequently observed diseases in Otolaryngology practice. The primary objective of the study was to assess the bacteriological and mycological profile in chronic suppurative otitis media among patients visiting a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu. Materials and methods: A total of 268 samples from 200 patients fulfilling the criteria were included. All patients underwent otoscopic examination; Tuning fork test and pure tone audiometry (PTA) were performed. Microbial identification was performed by collecting Aural discharge from the middle ear of each patient by using two sterile swabs. Results: More than half of the patients belonged to 21 to 40 year age group. Only 5.5% of them were aged 20 years and below. Unilateral involvement of CSOM was observed in 66% of the patients with 34% of them affecting both the ears. Microbial assay showed 78% of cases with gram-negative microbial infection while 22% were with gram-positive microbes. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest gram positive bacteria (90.9%) while Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most frequent gram-negative microbe. Among fungi, Candida albicans was found in 71.42 patients. V.C. Suresh Chander, A. Kavinkumar. Microbiological profile of chronic suppurative otitis media presenting to a tertiary care teaching hospital - A cross-sectional study. IAIM, 2019; 6(5) 5-11. Page 6 Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes were the most prevalent gram-positive bacteria while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the commonest CSOM-causing gram-negative microorganisms.