During the last few decades, the increase in the incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) fungal infections has become an emerging threat to public health. Therefore, it is important to illuminate the usage of alternative therapy to treat MDR fungal infection. This study was carried out to elucidate the usage of plant extract and essential oil, either alone or with other antifungal drugs to treat otitis media caused by MDR fungi. Medicinal plant is a safe and cheap source when compared with chemical antifungal drugs. Twenty-one fungal isolates out of 104 ear swabs from patients suffering from otitis media were characterized using both phenotypic and genotypic methods. The antibiogram typing was used to determine the MDR isolates. The sensitivity of MDR fungal isolates was tested against several plant extracts and essential oils, either alone or with other antifungal drugs. Thyme oil and clove extracts proved to have synergistic effects suggesting their use in the treatment of fungal infections, especially otitis media caused by MDR fungi. The ultrastructure of MDR fungal isolates exhibited a complete destruction post exposure to the used materials when observed under the transmission microscope (TEM). Thyme oil and clove extract were found to be the most effective agents against MDR fungal isolates and they constitute a promising tool for the management of fungal infection causing the otitis media.

中文翻译：

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治疗由多重耐药真菌引起的中耳炎的替代疗法

在过去的几十年中，耐多药 (MDR) 真菌感染的发病率增加已成为对公共卫生的新威胁。因此，阐明替代疗法用于治疗 MDR 真菌感染非常重要。本研究旨在阐明植物提取物和精油单独或与其他抗真菌药物一起用于治疗由 MDR 真菌引起的中耳炎的用途。与化学抗真菌药物相比，药用植物是一种安全且廉价的来源。使用表型和基因型方法对来自患有中耳炎的患者的 104 份耳拭子中的 21 份真菌分离物进行了表征。抗菌谱分型用于确定 MDR 分离株。MDR 真菌分离株对几种植物提取物和精油的敏感性进行了测试，单独使用或与其他抗真菌药物一起使用。百里香油和丁香提取物证明具有协同作用，表明它们可用于治疗真菌感染，尤其是由 MDR 真菌引起的中耳炎。在透射显微镜 (TEM) 下观察时，MDR 真菌分离物的超微结构在​​暴露于所用材料后表现出完全破坏。发现百里香油和丁香提取物是对抗 MDR 真菌分离株的最有效药剂，它们构成了治疗引起中耳炎的真菌感染的有前途的工具。在透射显微镜 (TEM) 下观察时，MDR 真菌分离物的超微结构在​​暴露于所用材料后表现出完全破坏。发现百里香油和丁香提取物是对抗 MDR 真菌分离株的最有效药剂，它们构成了治疗引起中耳炎的真菌感染的有前途的工具。在透射显微镜 (TEM) 下观察时，MDR 真菌分离物的超微结构在​​暴露于所用材料后表现出完全破坏。发现百里香油和丁香提取物是对抗 MDR 真菌分离株的最有效药剂，它们构成了治疗引起中耳炎的真菌感染的有前途的工具。