Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae at the completion of successful antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media predisposes to early clinical recurrence.

Objective: We sought to investigate the role of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization after successful antibiotic treatment (Rx) of acute otitis media (AOM) in recurrent AOM (RAOM).

Patients And Methods: NP cultures were obtained from 494 (93%) of 530 patients at the end of antibiotic treatment (EOT).

Results: At enrollment, middle ear fluid (MEF) cultures in 418 (79%) of 530 patients were positive for pathogens.