Reviewing the Pathogenic Potential of the Otitis-Associated Bacteria Alloiococcus otitidis and Turicella otitidis

Abstract

Alloiococcus otitidis and Turicella otitidis are common bacteria of the human ear. They have frequently been isolated from the middle ear of children with otitis media (OM), though their potential role in this disease remains unclear and confounded due to their presence as commensal inhabitants of the external auditory canal. In this review, we summarize the current literature on these organisms with an emphasis on their role in OM. Much of the literature focuses on the presence and abundance of these organisms, and little work has been done to explore their activity in the middle ear. We find there is currently insufficient evidence available to determine whether these organisms are pathogens, commensals or contribute indirectly to the pathogenesis of OM. However, building on the knowledge currently available, we suggest future approaches aimed at providing stronger evidence to determine whether A. otitidis and T. otitidis are involved in the pathogenesis of OM. Such evidence will increase our understanding of the microbial risk factors contributing to OM and may lead to novel treatment approaches for severe and recurrent disease.

Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiome and Otitis Media Intertalk: Lessons from the Literature

“…Another element that complicates data interpretation and deserves standardization is the use of different databases during OTUs assignment. This is a relevant issue that should be taken into consideration for two main reasons: different databases might lead to heterogeneous results; some taxa could be misclassified with certain databases, as reported for A. otitidis and T. otitidis [89].…”

Aislamientos de Turicella otitidis en exudados óticos durante el año 2020

“…En nuestro estudio solo dos de los pacientes pertenecen a ese rango de edad, siendo 4 de los nueve pacientes restantes adultos. Se ha estudiado a T. otitidis en el conducto auditivo externo de adultos y niños sanos por lo que no se puede descartar su papel como microbiota auditiva normal [11]. En nuestro estudio, aunque se produjeron tres recaídas, solo en uno de los pacientes se aisló de nuevo T. otitidis que inicialmente era sensible al tratamiento pautado.…”

“…Dadas las discrepancias en la resolución de estas infecciones y ante la falta de datos posteriores de recaída, cabe preguntarse si se resolvieron espontáneamente, lo que evidenciaría un cuadro autolimitado que posiblemente no requiriese tratamiento antibiótico. La tarjeta Vitek permite identificar el microorganismo de manera eficiente y es posible que el desarrollo de técnicas diagnósticas como la espectofotometría de masas y las técnicas de biología molecular permitan identificar aún con más fiabilidad este microorganismo y asociarlo a otras patologías [11,12]…”

Alloiococcus otitidis—Cause of Nonspecific Acute Sinusitis: First Case Report and Review of Literature

“…However, more than three decades later, its possible role in this disease remains controversial. There is still insufficient evidence to clarify whether A. otitidis is a commensal or a true pathogen, or perhaps indirectly contributes to the pathogenesis of OM by supporting important pathogens in some way [5,6].…”

“…Acute bacterial sinusitis and OM have identical pathogenesis: an antecedent viral infection and nasopharyngeal colonization by bacterial pathogens. Although frequently detected in MEFs in recent decades, A. otitidis has very rarely, if ever, been detected in nasopharyngeal cultures from healthy individuals or patients with respiratory infections [6,7]. However, with recent advances in culture-independent techniques such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Alloiococcus has been detected as a common genus in the microbiota of the healthy nasopharynx [8].…”