Bacterial Isolates and Their Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns in Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media: A Tertiary Care Hospital-Based Study

Background: Chronic otitis media is a persistent inflammatory disease of the middle ear associated with recurrent ear discharge and may lead to significant morbidity if inadequately treated. The bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility of causative organisms may vary between populations and healthcare settings. Knowledge of local bacterial patterns and antimicrobial susceptibility is therefore important for appropriate management. The aim is to analyze the bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolates in patients with chronic otitis media and to examine the age and gender distribution of these patients. Material and Methods: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 patients diagnosed with chronic otitis media. Demographic characteristics including age and gender were recorded. Ear discharge specimens were collected under aseptic precautions and subjected to bacteriological culture and identification. The isolated organisms were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using standard susceptibility testing procedures. The distribution of bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were expressed using frequencies and percentages. Results: Among the 150 patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the predominant bacterial isolate, accounting for 120 (80.00%) isolates, while Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 30 (20.00%) cases. The largest proportion of patients belonged to the 16–25-year age group (36.66%), followed by the 46–55-year age group (23.33%). Males constituted 56.67% of the study population and females 43.33%. The left ear was affected in 50.00% of patients, while bilateral involvement was observed in 3.33%. Mucosal chronic otitis media was predominant (80.00%). Among P. aeruginosa, sensitivity was highest to colistin (100%), followed by ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem (95.80% each). Ciprofloxacin showed 50.00% sensitivity. Among S. aureus, teicoplanin, vancomycin and linezolid demonstrated 100% sensitivity, whereas ciprofloxacin showed no sensitive isolates. Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the predominant bacterial isolate in patients with chronic otitis media. Substantial variation was observed in antimicrobial susceptibility among the isolated organisms, emphasizing the importance of bacteriological culture and susceptibility testing for appropriate antimicrobial selection and local surveillance of resistance patterns.

Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility, Chronic otitis media, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus.