“A STUDY ON CLINICO-MYCOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF OTOMYCOSIS”

AIM OF STUDY :To study about various fungal infections in the external ear OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the incidence of fungal infection in ear ,2.To study the aetiological agents of otomycosis 3.To study the association with various diseases like otitis media (csom, asom) otitis externa, post op patients, drug induced(local drops) Materials and Methods: This is a Cross-sectional study where patients tting into inclusion criteria were interviewed and assessed after informed written consent.Detailed history is taken and after clinical examination ear swab for culture and sensitivity and KOH was sent and culture positive patients are studied for a period of one and half year from September 2019 to March 2021 Results: out of 120 cases observed for a period of 18 months in the Department of ENT Bhaskar Medical college ,the peak number of cases was in June month [12.5%] ,Female : Male Ratio was 55:45 ,Right ear is more than left ear ,most important predisposing factor being usage of unsterile sticks ,Itching being the most common complaint [67.5%] ,Otitis externa being the most common associated disease [20%] ,Asperigillus avus being the most common organism in our study [49%] . Conclusion : The present study highlights the increased prevalence of otomycosis in females as compared to males with majority of the cases occurring in the rainy season. In our study Unilateral predominance is seen with right ear than left ear .The incidence is more in age group of 31 to 40 years Other Indian studies report high incidence of otomycosis among 21 – 30 year age group. Aspergillus species was the most common fungi isolated