Bacteriology of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media among Children at the Arthur Davidson Children's Hospital, Ndola, Zambia

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the bacteria that cause CSOM and their sensitivity to drugs used in children attending at the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic at Arthur Davidson Children's Hospital(ADCH) in Ndola.Methodology: It was a retrospective descriptive hospital based cross sectional study whereby the medical files of 60 patients aged between 0-15 years who diagnosed with CSOM from January 2014 to January 2016 at Arthur Davison Children Hospital were reviewed and the socio-demographic data, type of bacteria isolated and their antibiotic sensitivity were analysed using quantitative methods Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS version 16.0).Results: Of the 60 patients included in the study, more than half (56.7%) of the participants were 7 years old or younger and majority (86.7%) of participants came from high density areas. CSOM seemed to be more common in females (55%) thanmales (45%). The common organisms isolated included; Staphylococcus species (36%), Proteus vulgaris species (35%), Pseudomonas species (15%), Streptococcus species (7%), E. coli species (3%), Enterobacter species (2%) and Serratia marcens species (2%). Antimicrobial sensitivity tests showed that Ciprofloxacin was more sensitive to most of the microbial isolates.Conclusion: It is important to know that Staphylococcus was the commonest isolated pathogen responsible for CSOM at ADCH. This will ensure success in the choice of suitable antibiotics according to susceptibility tests as they guide the treatment and thus reduce complications of CSOM and curbing resistance to antibiotics