To that end, this team of academic and clinical investigators
used a device called the PlexID that can detect a broad range of
bacteria in a clinical sample, and then used PCR and
fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes to corroborate
the presence of middle ear pathogens in the biofilms. That work
fingered H. influenzae as the major culprit. "Clinically, our
data explain why adenoidectomy helps with otitis media effusion
since it removes a reservoir of pathogenic bacteria in the upper
respiratory tract that can lead to otitis media," says Hall-
Stoodley. That doesn't necessarily mean that clinicians will
automatically recommend adenoidectomy as the primary surgical
treatment, she adds. Nonetheless, "We are convinced that H.
influenzae is a uniquely important pathogen in chronic otitis
media," she says. "I think that scientists have begun to think
about chronic otitis media in a new way, and investigation of
the pathogenesis of this complex disease will help in the design
of novel therapies that do not