Has cerumen a protective role in recurrent external otitis?
PURPOSE: We investigated the bactericidal activity of the cerumen in patients with recurrent otitis externa. Materials and methods: Cerumen samples were collected from 2 groups. Group A (n = 20) consisted of patients with recurrent otitis externa (2 or more acute otitis externa attack in the current year) and group B (n = 30) consisted of cerumen from a healthy population. We examined the bactericidal activity against the common microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus) that encounter the recurrent otitis externa. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the count of S epidermidis was observed in group A (P <.05) and B (P <.01) was observed. A comparison of decreases and increases in the percentages of microorganisms between the groups A and B showed that there was a significant difference only in the count of E coli (P
