Bacterial Role for Post-Irradiation Otitis Media with Effusion in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Objective: To examine the role of bacteria in the development of otitis media with effusion (OME) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients following radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: The study is comprised of a single cohort of NPC patients between January 2002 and December 2007. When an OME was diagnosed at follow-up, a tympanocentesis was performed to collect middle ear effusions for culture. Results: Eighty eight NPC patients with a mean age of 45.8 years were enrolled in the study. Overall, 25 (28%) of these patients had OME and 22 underwent tympanocentesis and had documentation of ear effusion culture. Of the 22 samples, 8 had growth of one organism. Of these culture-positive ear effusions, 5 had growth of Staphylococcus aureus and 3 had coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Conclusions: Bacteria infections, which most likely ascend from the nasopharynx, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of post-irradiation OME in some NPC patients.