Bacterial Ecology of Otorrhea at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala, Cameroon

Abstract

Background: Otitis media is an inflammation of the lining of the middle ear, involving the eardrum, ancillary cavities and the auditory tube. Prolonged, it can be suppurative. The etiology can be bacterial, fungal or viral. The observation of this disease led us to do this study to look for possible treatment alternatives. Method: We conducted a prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study, from February 1 to May 3, 2013 at Laquintinie hospital in Douala. The samples taken were cultured, the identification of the strains made by the galleries API (20E ™, STAPH, 20 STREP), the study of the sensitivity to antibiotics and antifungals by the method of diffusion of discs on agar. Results: 38.3% of patients had infected left ear, 53.2% right ear and 8.5% had bilateral otitis. In 50.5% of pus, at least 2 germs were isolated. 95.7% of samples were culture positive and 4.3% negative. 79.1% of bacteria were isolated against 20.9% of fungals. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was mostly isolated (50.9%) followed by staphylococcus aureus (15.1%). We had better susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to imipenem (88.5%), piperacillin (80.8%), ciprofloxacin (76.2%) and significant resistance to ticarcillin (7.7%). The best sensitivity of Candida is that of ketoconazole (92.9%). Conclusion: The bacterial profile is different from that encountered in most Western countries. The main etiologies are: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Fungals were also present. Imipenem and ketoconazole are the antibiotic and antifungal of choice, respectively.