Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) remains one of the most common childhood chronic infectious diseases worldwide, affecting diverse racial and cultural groups both in developing and industrialized countries. It involves considerable morbidity and can cause extra- and intra-cranial complications. The aim of this study was to determine the microbial diversity and the antibiogram of aerobic bacterial isolates among patients suffering from CSOM who attended the ENT Department of SMHS hospital, a tertiary care centre located in the heart of the Kashmir valley.
Methods:
A total of 154 patients clinically diagnosed with CSOM were enrolled in the study and the samples were obtained from each patient using sterile cotton swabs and cultured for microbial flora. Drug susceptibility testing for aerobic isolates was conducted using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusionmethod.