DETECTION OF HAEMOPHILUS-INFLUENZAE IN ADENOIDS AND NASOPHARYNGEAL SECRETIONS BY POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

Haemophilus influenzae in the nasopharynx is thought to be related to the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion (OME). However, the pos itive rate measured by the conventional culture method is not high eno ugh for bacterial infection to be considered the chief pathogenic fact or. Polymerase chain reaction (PRC) and the conventional culture metho d were applied to detect H. influenzae in the adenoids and nasopharyng eal secretions of 17 children with OME (2 to 7 years of age). The perc entage of P6-positive adenoid samples was 82.4% while 70.6% were cultu re positive. In nasopharyngeal secretions, 88.2% were P6-positive and 64.7% were culture positive. All samples in which H. influenzae was cu ltured were positive with PCR. The positive rate was significantly gre ater with PCR than with the culture method, and it showed a significan t concordance between adenoids and nasopharyngeal secretions (p = 0.00 27). These findings suggest that the presence of H. influenzae in the nasopharynx is more common in children with OME than previously report ed, and that H. influenzae in adenoids might play an important role in OME.