Bacteriological Flora of Acute Otitis Externa

Main Article Content

Abha K.C.
Bikash Lal Shrestha
Surendra Kumar Madhup
Manish Neupane

Abstract

Introduction: Acute otitis externa refers to inflammation of external auditory meatus skin usually due to infectious etiology. Bacterial etiology of the entity has been established by various studies; however, the predominant causative pathogen has been identified as either Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus. This study aimed to identify the aerobic bacteria responsible for this condition at our centre, and their antimicrobial susceptibility.


Methods: 102 patients presenting to our Outpatient Department with acute otitis externa over a period of 1 year (5th April, 2021 - 4th April, 2022) underwent collection of external auditory canal swabs for aerobic bacteriological profile, followed by antimicrobial susceptibility for the recovered isolates.


Results: The commonest isolate was Staphylococcus aureus (61.8%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.6%). Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was recorded at an alarming rate of 15.7%.


Conclusion: Culture and Sensitivity testing in cases of Acute otitis externa helps to modify the treatment regimen in cases not responding to the usual therapy.

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Section
Research Articles