Cytological picture of fluid collected from middle ear in course of o.m.s. in children

: The fluid collected during operation from tympanic cavity of 37 children with o.m.s. was examined. Its cellular composition was assessed by microscopic observation in magnification of 400 in 10 different fields of view. Lymphocytes, neutrophiles, eosinophiles and macrophages were counted. The ratio of number of macrophages to the total number of lymphocytes granulocytes was expressed in percent. The concentration of proteins was evaluated using stripe method Multistix 10 SG and comparatively, after staining the fixed preparation with hematoxylin and eosine, on the basis of pink colour, which intensity is proportional to the amount of protein. The exudative fluid was found to be protein-rich; it contained numerous lymphocytes in 56% of samples; epithelioid cells were sparse or absent in 53% of samples; in 95% of samples eosinophiles were absent, or occurred in small numbers, in 65% of samples only few neutrophiles was found. The fraction of immature cells in total number of neutrophiles decreased evidently with increase of this number (r2 = 0.85); the average ratio of the number of macrophages to the total number of lymphocytes and granulocytes was 32%. The relationship between hypoacusia and cytological parameters of ear secretion was analysed. It was discovered, that there was no dependence between the value of hypoacusia and the concentration of proteins, neither the total number of cells in fluid. With the increase of hypoacusia, the number of eosinophiles decreased. Further studies are required to check whether hypoacusia is dependent on the amount of secretion.