Folino F, Fattizzo M, Ruggiero L, et al. - In the present study, the researchers sought to compare both nasopharyngeal microbiota of children with recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) vs matched controls and nasopharyngeal microbiota of children with a history of RAOM with spontaneous tympanic membrane perforation (STMP). Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from 132 children, median age 3.51 (2.13–4.72), comprising 36 healthy children, 50 with RAOM without STMP, and 46 with RAOM with STMP. Compared with RAOM without STMP and RAOM with STMP, a higher relative abundance of Dolosigranulum and Corynebacterium genera was found in the nasopharynx of healthy children. The study provides a characterization of upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota in children with and without a history of recurrent STMP who are vulnerable to otitis, indicating that the role of Dolosigranulum and Corynebacterium should be further studied in regulating healthy URT microbiota.