title: Moraxella catarrhalis Might Be More Common than Expected in Acute Otitis Media in Young Finnish Children.
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 than culture. In the present study, we analyzed the middle ear pathogens with both conventional culture and semiquantitative 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 results were positive in 42 (47%) samples, 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%). Multibacterial etiology was seen in 34 (38%) samples, and M. catarrhalis was detected in most (85%) of those cases. 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, and School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland saara.sillanpaa@uta.fi.
authors.forename: Saara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sillanpää
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oikarinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, and School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sipilä
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kramna
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, and School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rautiainen
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Heini
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.affiliation: Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aittoniemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, and School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laranne
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyöty
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cinek
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods