Prevalence of Otomycosis: An Evaluation among Patients Visiting ENT Clinics

Aim: To look at the relative frequency and prevalence of the otomycosis in individuals visited ENT department of Bahawal Victoria hospital, Bahawalpur. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at ENT department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur during 2019-2020. Forty-Two individuals (27 males and 15 females) with a diagnosis of otomycosis on clinical basis were mycologically investigated. To diagnose the condition, ear samples were taken and immediately examined using 10% KOH, followed by culture on Saburo dextrose agar plus Saburo dextrose agar also having chloramphenicol. Different laboratory approaches and differential testing were utilized to determine the kind of fungal species. Ethical approval was taken from Ethical review board of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Results: Only 42 individuals (66.6%) were identified with otomycosis in this research based on laboratory data, out of 63 people undergoing a clinical diagnosis of otomycosis There were 27 male participants (42.8%) and 15 female participants (23.8%) among them. Penicillium, Aspergillus glaucous, Aspergillus fumigates, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger have 1 (1.5%), 3 (4.7%), 3 (4.7%), 9 (14.6%) and 26 (41.2%) cases respectively. Conclusion: The most prevalent fungus identified was Aspergillus and Candida species. Key Words: Otomycosis, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans