title: Screening of middle ear effusion for the common sinus pathogen Bipolaris.
abstract: Recently, a third of middle ear effusions have been shown to harbor fungal DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This suggests that fungi, in addition to being an important sinus pathogen, may also play an important role in acute and serous otitis media. Bipolaris is an important sinus pathogen whose role in infections of the ear is unknown. In this study, we assessed if Bipolaris DNA was present in 19 middle ear effusions that were PCR positive for the presence of fungi. Primer pair specific for Bipolaris spicifera was tested against DNA from various bacterial and fungal species to demonstrate its specificity and was subsequently used on DNA isolated from effusions to determine if Bipolaris-specific DNA was present. None of the nineteen specimens tested positive for Bipolaris by PCR or standard culture technique. This suggests that while fungi may play an important role in otitis media, this study does not support a role for Bipolaris as a middle ear pathogen and may reflect regional differences in its prevalence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco, 94143-0342, USA.
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guertler
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Anil K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lalwani
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004271:DNA, Fungal