O THE DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Background: Ear infections, particularly acute otitis media, are commonly encountered in clinical practice, often requiring antibiotic therapy. While aerobic bacteria have been extensively studied in these infections, anaerobic bacteria play a significant role that is sometimes overlooked. This study aimed to identify anaerobic bacterial isolates from patients with ear infections and determine their susceptibility profile to commonly used antibiotics. Methods: The study evaluated forty three patients from the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin city over a period of two months. Clinical and demographic data of the patients were also collected which included age, gender, alcohol history, smoking history, medical history, among others. Ear swab specimens were collected and processed for anaerobic culture. Isolates were identified using standard microbiological techniques, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the standard agar disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration method. Results: A total of 76.47% of our study participants were female, and 23.53% were male. Participants aged 16-25 had the highest ear infection occurrence (38.24%). Pseudomonas spp, a facultative anaerobe, dominated the ear infections (47.06%) compared to other organisms isolated, which was more sensitive to Azithromycin(87.5%). Conclusion:.Patients aged 16-25 were more susceptible to ear infections. This study highlights the presence of anaerobic bacteria in ear infections and their varying susceptibility profiles to commonly used antibiotics. Understanding the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of anaerobic isolates is crucial for guiding appropriate antibiotic therapy, especially in cases of treatment failure or recurrent infections