Background: The ear discharge is a common presenting symptom in medical practice affecting all age groups but primarily children. It is a big menace in developing countries like India. Ear discharge can result from varied infective and clinical conditions of the ear.
Aims and objectives: This study was done to determine the current infective etiological causes of ear discharge, their antibiograms, and associated risk factors.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of laboratory records of all the ear swabs taken from patients with ear discharge in the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, for 15 months. A total number of 266 patients of both genders between 1 year and 80 years visiting the E.N.T department with ear discharge are taken as the study population. All pus swabs from infected ears were inoculated on blood agar, MacConkey agar, and Sabouraud Dextrose agar with chloramphenicol. Furthermore, smears for Gram staining and potassium hydroxide mount were made. Identification of the pathogens was done by standard biochemical tests. Sensitivity tests to antimicrobial agents were done on Mueller–Hinton Agar using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method.
Results: Out of 266 ear swabs, 231 (86.84%) had microorganisms isolated. Out of 266 patients, 140 (52.64%) were females and 126 (47.36%) were males. Pseudomonas species was the commonly isolated organism 98 (42.42%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus 92 (39.80%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae 17 (7.35%). Pseudomonas species were mostly sensitive to imipenem/cilastatin followed by meropenem and amikacin.
Conclusion: Most cases of ear discharge were found in females and the age group of 11–18 years. The most common bacteriological cause of the ear discharge was Pseudomonas species followed by S. aureus. Carbapenems, cefepime, piperacillin-tazobactam, levofloxacin, linezolid, and voriconazole are effective antimicrobial agents for the empirical treatment of ear infections with discharge.
Key words: Ear Discharge; Antimicrobial Agents; Resistance; Otitis Media
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