Differences between adults and children were explored on a per-patient (rather than per-ear) basis; where data existed for two ears, the per-patient analysis was carried out using the criteria of at least one ear being culture/confocal positive and at least one ear containing biofilms. Children appeared to have a greater number of culture-positive, confocal-positive, and biofilm results than adults (54.3% vs. 14.3%, 82.9% vs. 57.1%, and 67.9% vs. 0%, respectively). However, only the presence of biofilms reached statistical significance (Fisher's exact test p = 0.02).
ears
two
ear
at least one
ear
at least one
Children
culture-positive
54.3%
%
adults
culture-positive
14.3%
%
Children
confocal-positive
82.9%
%
adults
confocal-positive
57.1%
%
Children
biofilm
67.9%
%
adults
biofilm
0%
%
Fisher's exact test
p
0.02