Background and purpose: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is one of the major childhood diseases. Alloiococcus otitidis as an agent of OME is a fastidious organism. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of A. Otitidis in children with OME using culture and PCR methods. Materials and methods: A total of 65 specimens of middle ear effusions were obtained from 50 children diagnosed with OME under general anesthesia in operation room. PCR and bacterial culture methods were used for detection and isolation of A. otitidis. Antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates was determined by disk agar diffusion (DAD) method. Results: The patients included 45 male and five female. A. otitidis were isolated from 15 (23.07%) cases using culture and 26 (40%) patients through PCR. All the isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin and amoxicillin/ clavulanate. Whereas most of the isolates were resistant to Macrolides such as Erythromycins and Azithromycin. Conclusion: A. otitidis is one of the most important bacterial agents of OME in Iranian children. Considering the antibiogram susceptibility pattern, we can propose these antibiotics as the drugs of choice for the treatment of OME patients. Also, this study showed that PCR is more sensitive than culture method for identification of this bacterium.

Keywords: Otitis media with effusion (OME), Alloiococcus otitidis, culture, PCR

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