Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of otitis media in children at Princess Rhamah Hospital in Jordan

ABSTRACT

Otitis media is one of the most common infections in children. Recently it was noticed that there is a marked increase in relapse of otitis media in children. Therefore, this study conducted to investigate microorganisms causing otitis media in children and to assess their sensitivity to various groups of antimicrobial. A retrospective study was conducted on positive cultures taken from 173 children aged below 15 years, who attended as outpatient or inpatient at Princess Rahmah Hospital between January and December/ 2008. The obtained data were analyzed and the results were tabulated. A total of 173 isolates were recovered from cultures obtained from children patients. The male and female isolates ratio was [1.241.0]. The most frequent pathogen found was S. aureus [68.2%], followed by Streptococcus spp. [12.1%], H. influenzae [9.3%], Psudomonas spp [6.9%] and Klebsiella spp. [3.9%]. The susceptibility rate of S. aureus was recorded the highest [95.9%] for vancomycin, and the lowest susceptibility rate [31.8%] was recorded for oxacillin. S. aureus was the main isolate of otitis media in children, which almost all isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and vancomycin. Overall oxacillin resistance was near 67%. This information should be considered when empirical therapy is recommended or prescribed for children with otitis media