A study of aerobic bacteriological profile of chronic suppurative otitis media in a tertiary care hospital, South India

Abstract

Introduction: In the Otolaryngology Out Patient Department (OPD), Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) is the most common encountered otological disease. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas species are the most commonly encountered etiological agents. Untreated CSOM leads to complications such as facial nerve paralysis, lateral sinus thrombosis, labyrinthitis, meningitis and brain abscess. Materials and Methods: Patients with CSOM having unilateral or bilateral ear discharge for more than 3 months, attending Otolaryngology OPD or admitted in the wards were included in the study. Two swabs were collected from each patient with sterile precautions and submitted to the Microbiology Department. The samples were subjected to Gram’s stain and culture according to standard operative procedure. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines. Results: A total of 520 samples were collected, out of which 474 samples showed growth. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant isolate followed by Pseudomonas species. Staphylococcus isolates were highly sensitive to vancomycin and linezolid. Conclusion: Several studies have showed the predominance of different etiological agents in different geographical regions with different antibiotic sensitivity pattern. So, the knowledge of local etiological agent and its susceptibility pattern helps clinicians in treating the patients and to prevent its complications and drug resistance. Keywords: CSOM, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Antibiotic susceptibility pattern, Aerobic bacteria.