Coincidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae isolated simultaneously in epipharynx and middle-ear fluids in pediatric patients with acute otitis media

We determined the identity of simultaneous isolates in 206 isolates in which Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae was isolated simultaneously from the epipharynx and middle ear fluid among pediatric patients with acute otitis media (AOM) in clinical studies of tebipenem pivoxil based on (i) genetic antibiotic resistance type, (ii) capsular type, and (iii) similarity in DNA restriction patterns by PFGE. Among 399 AOM patients, isolates from middle ear fluid and epipharynx samples of 107 cases of S. pneumoniae to be identical, and isolates from 99 cases identical for H. influenzae. Bacterial cell numbers in middle ear fluid paralleled those in the epipharynx. We concluded that the causative AOM pathogen could be determined by testing bacterial species and amounts in the epipharynx.