Acute otitis media is diagnosed in patients with acute onset, presence of middle ear effusion, physical evidence of middle ear inflammation, and symptoms such as pain, irritability, or fever. Acute otitis media is usually a complication of eustachian tube dysfunction that occurs during a viral upper respiratory tract infection. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella cat...

BACKGROUND Bacteria which are metabolically active yet unable to be cultured and eradicated by antibiotic treatment are present in the middle ear effusion of children with chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) and recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM). These observations are suggestive of biofilm presence or intracellular sequestration of bacteria and may play a role in OM pathogenesis. The a...

A special colony of albino rats was built up by selection and isolation from a population in which middle ear disease was highly prevalent. No cases of aural infection occurred in the selected group, whereas its precursor showed a crude incidence of 57 per cent. The subjection of selected rats to a rachitic diet and to overcrowding did not predispose to the development of middle ear disease. Th...

The middle ear is frequently invaded by the upper respiratory commensals. The growth of the commensals in the middle ear frequently causes infectious events. Some of these infectious events occur in children repeatedly when the middle ear is in a state of immune tolerance, a condition in which T lymphocytes are unable to kill invading microorganisms, bacterial or viral. This review article give...

Otitis media is an infection or inflammation of the middle ear. This inflammation often begins when infections that cause sore throats, colds, or other respiratory or breathing problems spread to the middle ear. These can be viral or bacterial infections. Seventy-five percent of children experience at least one episode of otitis media by their third birthday. Almost half of these children will ...

Middle ear infection (or inflammation) is the most common pathological condition that causes fluid to accumulate in the middle ear, disrupting cochlear homeostasis. Lipopolysaccharide, a product of bacteriolysis, activates macrophages and causes release of inflammatory cytokines. Many studies have shown that lipopolysaccharides cause functional and structural changes in the inner ear similar to...

Late-talking and normally speaking toddlers with and without histories of middle ear involvement were followed for 2 years to assess speech and expressive language outcomes. Results revealed no differences in expressive language outcome that could be attributed to history of middle ear involvement in either group. There did seem to be differences in outcome on measures of articulation that were...