Table 1.

Bacteriology of Acute Otitis Media^*

Bacterial Species	Prevalence (%) 1999	Prevalence (%) 2017
Streptococcus pneumoniae	40-45	15-25
Haemophilus influenzae	25-30	50-60
Moraxella catarrhalis	12-15	12-15
Streptococcus pyogenes	3-5	3-5
Sterile+	15-20	15-20

^*Data shown in this table represent summary information provided within references 6, 7, 11 and 12.

⁺Although conventional microbiologic techniques fail to demonstrate positive cultures in 15-20% of samples of middle ear fluid, PCR techniques applied to sterile specimens indicate the presence of microbiota. [Xu Q, Kaur R, Casey JR, Adlowitz DG, Pichichero ME, Zeng M. Identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in culture-negative middle ear fluids from children with acute otitis media by combination of multiplex PCR and multi-locus sequencing typing. Int J Pediatr Otohinolaryngol 2011;75:239-244.]