[Ofloxacin in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the ear].

Twenty-three patients suffering from a Pseudomonas infection of the ear were treated with ofloxacin in a prospective study. The type of infection was as follows: external otitis 4, external otitis with furuncle 3, external otitis and otitis media 5, acute exacerbation of chronic otitis media 7, infection of radical mastoidectomy 3, malignant external otitis 1. All patients had previously been unsuccessfully treated elsewhere. The average period of infection was 13.7 days. The patients received 200 mg of ofloxacin (Tarivid) twice daily for 3 weeks. At the same time the ear was cleaned by suction at 2-4 day intervals and a Normison ear strip applied. Twenty patients were completely cured, 2 patients stopped taking ofloxacin early as a result of improved symptoms but their condition subsequently deteriorated. After a further 3 weeks of consistent treatment both of the cases were also cured. Hence only one patient did not respond to our therapy; that is a success rate of 95%. These results are compared with those of our former therapeutic plan in which all patients with resistant Pseudomonas ear infections were treated as in-patients with selected intravenous antibiotics.