Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates in children with otitis media in Zamfara, North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Otitis media has been reported as a common childhood disease and is associated with multiple microbial pathogens within the middle ear. Though the causative agents of this infection have largely remained the same over the years, current literature reviews show that the antibiotic susceptibility pattern has changed considerably. This study aimed to identify bacterial isolates and determine their antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns in children who had otitis media. This is a retrospective analysis of ear swab microscopy, culture and sensitivity (MCS) results of children between the age of 0 and 13 years who presented with clinical episodes of otitis media over a four year period. A total of 53 results were retrieved from the laboratory record book of which 43 were culture positive giving a yield of 84.9%. Males were 33 (62.3%) giving a M:F ratio of 1.7:1 and 71.7% were below the age of 5 years. Majority (68.9%) of the isolates were Gram positive organisms with Staphylococcus aureus being the commonest bacteria isolated (53.3%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.0%) and then Streptococcus pyogenes (13.3%). The isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and gentamicin, while all were found to be resistant to tetracycline, cefixime and levofloxacin. S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes were the commonest bacterial isolates in the patients. Ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and gentamicin were the antibiotics with the highest bacterial susceptibility rate. Children with ear discharge were recommended to be investigated and treatment should be based on antimicrobial test to prevent resistance and probably complications.

Bacteriological Profile of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media and Antibiotic Susceptibility in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Shanghai, China

“…Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacteria, followed by P aeruginosa in the 2 groups. These results were similar to those of previous studies, 4,14 in which S aureus and P aeruginosa were, respectively, first and second most frequent organisms. However, other studies 11,15 identified P aeruginosa as the predominant microorganism followed by S aureus .…”

“…19,20 However, in this work, the rates of S aureus and P aeruginosa susceptibility to ciprofloxacin were only 69.8% and 60%, respectively, which were consistent with a Nigerian study. 4 Chronic suppurative otitis media secondary to community-acquired MRSA infection was found to be increased from 0.7% to 11.4% from 1998 to 2006. 21 In this study, MRSA was isolated from 20 ears and constituted 18.9% of all S aureus.…”

“…Multiple studies have assessed antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns of bacterial pathogens. [4][5][6] However, few studies have focused on CSOM etiology and bacterial resistance in China.…”

Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Bacterial Aetiologies of Childhood Otitis Media in Accra, Ghana

“…ASOM was a more common diagnosis (68%) compared to CSOM (32%) among the study participants, an observation supported by other OM reports. 1 , 6 , 19 , 25 , 34 Moreover, the majority of the OM cases (74%) was observed among children under 5 years of age, similar to what have been reported in Ghana (65.1%) 10 and elsewhere (71.7%-84.2%) 3 , 8 , 35 for childhood OM. This observation could either be due to the immaturity of their immune system, which predisposes them to frequent upper respiratory tract infections, their relatively shorter Eustachian tube that allows for easier entry of nasopharyngeal pathogens into the middle ear, or both.…”

“…This observation could either be due to the immaturity of their immune system, which predisposes them to frequent upper respiratory tract infections, their relatively shorter Eustachian tube that allows for easier entry of nasopharyngeal pathogens into the middle ear, or both. 6 , 36 Similarly, a greater proportion of males (59%) was affected, which is comparable to the proportions of OM cases attributed to males in several studies (51.3%-62.3%), 8 , 34 , 35 , 37 albeit in contrast with others (48%-48.5%). 3 , 38…”