Transtympanic iontophoresis of dexamethasone and fosfomycin.

The effects of transtympanic iontophoresis of corticosteroids and antibiotics on otitis media with effusion (OME) were investigated. An experimental study using guinea pigs revealed that transtympanic passage of dexamethasone sodium phosphate and fosfomycin sodium by iontophoresis had sufficient anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. Twenty children with OME (33 ears) who were treated by iontophoresis were compared with 28 untreated children with OME (35 ears) with respect to improvement assessed by tympanoaudiometry. After one month, tympanoaudiometry revealed improvement in 21 (63.6%) of the treated ears but in only 13 (37.1%) of the untreated ears, indicating the efficacy of this treatment for OME.