Acute purulent otitis media in children older than 5 years. Incidence of Haemophilus as a causative organism
R. Schwartz, W. J. Rodriguez, W. N. Khan and S. Ross
It is generally believed that Haemophilus influenzae is not commonly a
causative agent of otitis media in children older than 5 years of age. We
recently studied cases of 58 children, aged from 5 to 9 years, who had
acute otitis media. Haemophilus species were the causative agents in 36% of
cases. This high incidence of Haemophilus isolation from the middle ear
exudate of these children has important therapeutic implications;
antibiotics effective against H influenzae should be employed when dealing
with otitis media in this older age group.
