Insidermedicine In Depth - December 19, 2011

The presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria does not appear to complicate outcomes among children who have tubes surgically placed in their eardrums for the treatment of chronic or recurrent middle ear infections. This is the main finding of research published in the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery.

Some methods for preventing recurring middle ear infections in children are:

• Avoiding putting them to bed with a bottle

• Keeping them away from smokers

• Surgically placing small ventilation tubes in their ears to improve airflow to the middle ear

Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham took cultures from the ears, nose, and throat of more than 70 children who were undergoing surgery to have tubes placed in their eardrums as a treatment for chronic or recurrent middle ear infections. The investigators then grew the cultures to determine whether antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, were present. They also looked at whether the presence of MRSA influenced the long-term outcomes of the children's surgery.

MRSA was only found in three of the children. During an average follow-up period of about a year, only one of these children went on to develop discharge or drainage from the ears, which is a common complication of tube placement surgery. It did not appear that having MRSA increased the risk of developing this complication, nor was MRSA associated with an increased risk of needing to be hospitalized for an infection, needing further ear surgery, or developing complications from a middle ear infection.

Today's research suggests that children with antibiotic resistant bacteria in their ears are just as likely to do well following tube placement surgery as children without such bacteria.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• MRSA
• chronic otitis media
• middle ear infection
• tubes surgery child