Comparison of Fungal Flora in Patients with Acute Otitis Externa and Healthy Subjects

Cerumen known as ear wax, regularly produced by cerumen and lipid secretary glands. Since Mazandaran province (North of Iran) has moderate and humid climate that affect the prevalence of pathogen microorganisms, this study was performed to determine the fungal flora of the ear in patients with acute otitis externa and healthy subjects.

In this case-control study, cerumens collected and cultured from 40 patients with clinically diagnosed acute otitis externa and 80 healthy subjects. After growth and diagnosis of their colonies, data was collected and two groups were compared.

In case group Aspergillus flavus (23.8%) and Candida spp. (16.6%), and in control group Mycelium Sterile (13.4%) and Cladosporium (12.5%) were the commonest fungi.

With regard to the fact that fungal flora observed in some of the healthy peoples without any clinical symptoms of otomycosis, thus, it seems that it is necessary to pay attention to changes in standard methods in removal cerumen pathway.