Multicenter study of the efficacy and safety of oral ciprofloxacin in the treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media in adults. The French Study Group.

Chronic suppurative otitis media is a common and potentially dangerous clinical condition that is difficult to treat because the most common infecting organisms are often resistant to many antibiotics. Recently, fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin have provided a new therapeutic possibility, offering a wide range of antibacterial activity and proven concentration in the middle ear. Therefore in the current study, we assessed the efficacy and safety of oral ciprofloxacin (500 mg twice daily for 10 days) in the treatment of suppurative chronic otitis media in adults. One hundred sixty-four patients were enrolled during a 3-month period by 49 ear, nose, and throat physicians in general practice. The mean duration of symptoms was 158 months, with the acute exacerbation lasting 72.5 days. Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis were most commonly isolated. At the end of treatment, the otorrhea had disappeared in 104 of the 155 (67.1%) evaluated patients. The bacteriologic eradication rate was 64.5%. After 4 weeks of follow-up care, 93.2% of patients had no recurrence of infection. In 4 patients, treatment was discontinued prematurely after an adverse event. We conclude that ciprofloxacin is an effective and well-tolerated general practice treatment for suppurative chronic otitis media in adults.