Background: Otitis media and otitis externa are common otological manifestations in allgenerations especially in children. There is lack of accurate identification of the causativeagent and thus poor diagnosis for such infections. Therefore, it leads to permanent anatomicaldisabilities including poor speech and defects in balancing and hearing. The study wasconducted to isolate, characterize and identify the microbes causing otitis media and otitisexterna.Method: A total of 250 patients having otitis media and otitis externa were enrolled in thestudy from March 2011 to October 2011. All patients were examined through clinicalexamination and detailed history was collected. Pus samples from the discharging ears wereplated on MacConkey’s, Chocolate and Blood agar for 24 to 48 hours. Isolates were identifiedon the basis of morphology, staining reactions and various biochemical tests.Results: In this study, only 6% cases yielded no growth, 14% yielded mixed cultures while80% cases yielded pure cultures. The presumptive diagnosis for ear swabbing was otitismedia (76%) and otitis externa (24%). The most common bacterial isolates obtained wereStaphylococcus aureus (43.3%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (25%) in thediagnosed cases of otitis media. While for the cases of otitis externa, Pseudomonasaeruginosa was the predominant organism with 52.2%. Infection of otitis media was mostcommon among children and the persons having low socioeconomic conditions.Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified as the principal pathogen followed byStaphylococcus aureus. To circumvent the painful effects of acute and chronic ear infections,an accurate microbial profiling may play pivotal role.
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