Moraxella catarrhalis in acute otitis media in young children

Moraxella catarrhalis: might be more common than expected in acute otitis media in young Finnish children.:

J Clin Microbiol. 2016 Jul ;

Authors: Sillanpää S, Oikarinen S, Sipilä M, Kramna L, Rautiainen M, Huhtala H, Aittoniemi J, Laranne J, Hyöty H, Cinek O

Abstract

According to studies based on bacterial cultures of middle ear fluids, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis have been the most common pathogens in acute otitis media. However, bacterial culture can be affected by reduced viability or suboptimal growth of bacteria. PCR detects bacterial DNA from samples with greater sensitivity. In the present study we analyzed the middle ear pathogens with both conventional culture and semi-quantitative real-time PCR in 90 middle ear fluid samples obtained from children aged 5 to 42 months during acute otitis media episodes. Samples were tested for the presence of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis, Alloiococcus otitidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa One or more bacterial pathogens were detected in 42 (47%) samples with culture and in 69 (77%) samples with PCR. According to PCR analysis M. catarrhalis was positive in 42 (47%), H. influenzae in 30 (33%), S. pneumoniae in 27 (30%), A. otitidis in 6 (6.7%), S. aureus in 5 (5.6%) and P. aeruginosa in 1(1.1%) samples. Multi-bacterial etiology was seen in 34 (38%) samples and M. catarrhalis was detected in most of these cases (85%). Fifteen signals for M. catarrhalis were strong, suggesting a highly probable etiological role of the pathogen. In conclusion, even though M. catarrhalis is often a part of mixed flora in acute otitis media, a considerable proportion of cases may be primarily attributable to this pathogen.

PMID: 27413187 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]



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