Anaerobic Bacteria in Acute Otitis Media

Abstract

Myringotomy with aerobic and anaerobic culture of middle ear fluid was performed on 28 infants with acute otitis media. Providine iodine solution was used to promote antisepsis of the external auditory canal prior to incision of the drumhead. Aerobic bacteria alone. predominantly Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were isolated from 20 children (71 ^r/c). Cultures from two children yielded mixtures of aerobes and anaerobes and the middle ear culture from one child grew anaerobic clostridial species mixed with a few colonies of S. epidermidis. the isolation of anaerobic bacteria from the middle ear after attempting antisepsis of the external auditory canal suggests that these bacteria may occasionally play a direct or ancillary role in the pathogenesis of acute otitis media in infants and young children.