role of mycoplasma pneumonia in acute exacerbation of chronic suppurative otitis media

ABSTRACT

This study was done on 60 patients, aging 3 - 18 years, attending the ENT Outpatient Clinic, and suffering from acute exacerbation of chronic suppurative otitis media in the form of sudden otorrhea from dry tympanic perforation. Complete ear, nose and throat examination, pure tone audiometry, chest examination, bacteriological study of the ear discharge for mycoplasma and other organisms, and serological examinations for the IgG mycoplasma pneumonia by the ELISA technique were done. 30 patients were serologically positive for IgG mycoplasma, of them 10 [16.7%] patients showed positive cultures for mycoplasma pneumonia. In this study, it was postulated that mycoplasma pneumonia plays a role in acute exacerbation of chronic suppurative otitis media. The commonest age affected was below 9, it has no specific clinical picture, no specific otoscopic picture, no specific hearing affections. Mycoplasma pneumonia can be found in combination with other organisms. In this study, it was postulated that blood born infection may play a role as a route to ear infection with mycoplasma pneumonia