Changing Trends in the Microbiological Profile and Antibiotic Sensitivity in Chronic Otitis Media: A Cross-sectional Study from South India

Background: Chronic otitis media (COM) is a common condition in children and adults, leading to hearing loss and complications if untreated.Early treatment based on antibiotic susceptibility is essential to prevent adverse outcomes.This study aims to identify and analyse bacterial and fungal isolates from the mucosal type of COM patients, assess their antibiotic susceptibility, and compare conventional biochemical methods with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) for microbial identification.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in our tertiary care hospital.Ear swabs from diagnosed cases of the mucosal type of COM underwent Gram staining, aerobic culture, and biochemical identification, with confirmation by MALDI-TOF.Antibiotic susceptibility was tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and VITEK 2 COMPACT.Results: Gram-negative bacteria (64%) were most prevalent, followed by Gram-positive bacteria (29.1%) and fungi (6.9%).Pseudomonas aeruginosa (59.7%) was the dominant pathogen, followed by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (16.7%), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (12.5%),Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.8%), Proteus mirabilis (1.4%), and fungi (6.9%).Two samples exhibited polymicrobial growth.Conventional identification methods and MALDI-TOF produced identical results.Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was predominant in the mucosal type of COM.Identification by conventional methods and MALDI-TOF were comparable, as were antibiotic susceptibility results from disk diffusion and VITEK 2 COMPACT.