ABSTRACT
Otomycosis usually requires long-term treatment and tends to recur. This study was performed on 87 patients with the clinical diagnosis of otomycosis and 20 controls in order to determine the pathogenic agents, predisposing factors and a cost-effective treatment. The predisposing factors included wearing head clothes (74.7 per cent), presence of dermatomycoses (34.5 per cent) and swimming (27.6 per cent). The most common pathogenic fungus was Aspergillus niger (44.8 per cent) in the otomycosis group. The only isolate was Candida albicans in the control group (2.5 per cent). We concluded that administration of four per cent boric acid solution in alcohol and frequent suction cleaning of the ear canal might be a cost-effective treatment for otomycosis since 77 per cent of the patients were treated effectively this way. Eighty per cent of the resistant cases had mixed fungal-bacterial infections, and 50 per cent of them had dermatomycoses. These resistant cases were treated by administration of tioconazole ointment.
Subject(s)
Ear Diseases/microbiology , Mycoses/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Bacterial Infections/microbiology , Boric Acids/therapeutic use , Ear Diseases/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mycoses/drug therapy , Risk Factors , TurkeyABSTRACT
Otomycosis tends to recur despite long-term treatment. To our knowledge, there is no study in the English literature concerning the clinical importance of concomitant otomycosis and dermatomycoses. We investigated the presence of dermatomycoses in 52 patients with otomycosis in order to document the clinical and microbiological importance of their coexistence. Dermatomycoses on the feet and/or hands were identified in 19 patients (36.5%). The most common pathogen for otomycosis was Aspergillus niger, while it was Candida albicans for the dermatomycoses. The same pathogenic fungi were isolated from the otomycosis and dermatomycoses in nine of the 19 patients (47.4%). Aspergillus niger was the most common shared pathogen. The pathogens isolated in concomitant dermatomycoses were common pathogens for the fungal infection of the ear ( Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans). It was concluded that the autoinoculation of the ear canal by pathogenic fungi might be possible in the presence of the untreated dermatomycoses. Dermatomycoses must be investigated in patients with otomycosis and must be treated simultaneously in order to prevent the recurrence of both.
