Aerobic and anaerobic bacteriology of concurrent chronic otitis media with effusion and chronic sinusitis in children.

Objective: To correlate the aerobic and anaerobic microbiologic findings of concurrent chronic otitis media with effusion and chronic maxillary sinusitis.
Methods: Cultures were obtained from 32 children with concurrent chronic otitis media with effusion and maxillary sinusitis who underwent tympanostomy tube placement.
Results: A total of 42 isolates, 24 aerobic and 18 anaerobic, were recovered from 30 patients; 27 were isolated from both sites, 4 from the ear only, and 11 from the sinus only. The most common isolates were Haemophilus influenzae (9 isolates), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 7), Prevotella species (n = 8), and Peptostreptococcus species (n = 6). Microbiological concordance between the ear and sinus was found in 22 (69%) of culture-positive patients.
Conclusion: The concordance in recovery of organisms in more than two thirds of the patients illustrates the common bacterial etiology between chronic otitis media with effusion and chronic sinusitis in children.