Int. Adv. Otol. 2011; 7(1) 111-114

Bacterial Colonization in the External Ear Canal and Ear Tampon with special Interest to Tympanoplasty. 
Nurhayat Bayazit, Rasit Cevizci, Yildirim A. Bayazit,
Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey  bayazity@yahoo.com

Objective: To assess bacterial colonization in the external auditory canal and ear tampons in the patients who had tympanoplasty operation.

Methods: In 18 patients with chronic otitis media, a swabbing was performed from the external auditory canal preoperatively for bacterial cultivation. Postoperatively the ear tampons were also sent for bacterial cultivation. Pre and postoperative cultivation results of the patients were compared.

Results: Preoperatively, there was 1 (5.6%) patient with a pathogenic bacterial growth (Klebsiella). In the remaining 17 patients (94.4%) normal skin flora growth (coagulase negative staphylococcus) was encountered. Postoperatively, a pathogenic bacterial growth was encountered in 3 (16.8%) patients (Klebsiella in 1, gram negative enterobacteriaceae in 1, and Stenotrophomonas in 1). No graft failure was encountered in the patients. There was no correlation between the graft take rate and culture results (p>0.05). There was no correlation between mastoidectomy and bacterial growth (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Ear tampons placed after tympanoplasty operations can be a media for the growth of pathogenic bacteria such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Isolation of a pathogenic bacterium in the ear tampons is not an indicator for an ongoing infectious process, as the result of tympanoplasty in the patients with bacterial growth is still successful. The use of perioperative antibiotics may be the cause of absence of an active infection in the external auditory canal.

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