A simple, safe and effective procedure for improving the bacterial isolation in chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is described. It is most useful for the isolation of aerobes as well as anaerobes from the middle ear.
Conservative medical management of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is an important step in achieving a dry ear. Topical antibiotic ear drops and aural toilet form the mainstay of medical management of noncholesteatomatous CSOM. This study analyzes the causal organisms and their sensitivity to various antibiotics. Out of 382 swabs examined, the major organisms isolated were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (27.2%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (23.6%). The sensitivity of P. aeruginosa was 100% to ceftazidime, 98.9% to ciprofloxacin, 96.3% to gentamicin, and 95.4% to polymyxin B, whereas the sensitivity of S. aureus was 98.6% to ciprofloxacin, 97.4% to cloxacillin sodium, 96.5% to cotrimoxazole, and 90.7% to gentamicin. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was almost completely resistant to ampicillin (97.6%) and chloramphenicol (96.6%), whereas S. aureus was almost completely resistant to ampicillin (73.8%) and polymyxin B (98.3%). Among the available topical antibiotic preparations for use in the ear, we found that ciprofloxacin and gentamicin are the best choices.
Otogenic brain abscess and postauricular fistula are complications of chronic suppurative otitis media. We describe a rare case of bilateral chronic suppurative otitis media that caused a left temporal lobe abscess and a right mastoid fistula.
It is conventional to use antibiotic-steroid combination eardrops, although the advantage of steroid combination has not been substantiated. The present prospective randomized comparative study is designed to assess the role of glucocorticoids in ototopical antibiotic-steroid preparations in the treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).
This study aims to assess the association between microbial composition, biofilm formation and chronic otorhinolaryngologic disorders in Malaysia. A total of 45 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic tonsillitis and chronic suppurative otitis media and 15 asymptomatic control patients were studied. Swab samples were obtained from these subjects. Samples were studied by conventional microbiological culturing, PCR-based microbial detection and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and other Streptococcus species were detected in subjects of both patient and control groups. Biofilm was observed in approximately half of the smear prepared from swab samples obtained from subjects of the patient group. Most of these were polymicrobial biofilms. S. aureus biofilm was most prevalent among nasal samples while H. influenzae biofilm was more common among ear and throat samples. Results from this study supported the hypothesis that chronic otorhinolaryngologic diseases may be biofilm related. Due to the presence of unculturable bacteria in biofilms present in specimens from ear, nose and throat, the use of molecular methods in combination with conventional microbiological culturing has demonstrated an improvement in the detection of bacteria from such specimens in this study.