Anaerobic bacteria, Peptostreptococcus intermedins and Propionibacterium acnes, were found in mixed culture specimens from four of ten tested cases of chronic secretory otitis media. These anaerobic bacteria were in a mixed infection flora with aerobic bacteria, most often Staphylococcus epidermidis and Corynebacterium sp. which do not fit any established species. The finding of anaerobic bacteria in otitis media is consistent with the sporadic reports of the involvement of anaerobic bacteria in otitis media in the literature since 1898.
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