Ofloxacin in oral chemotherapy of acute and chronic otitis media.

After ascertaining the bacterial spectrum in 210 patients with Otitis media acuta, Otitis media chronica mesotympanalis and Otitis media chronica epitympanalis, the clinical efficacy of oral therapy with ofloxacin in 40 patients from each of these groups was assessed. The clinical results are comparable with those following conventional local, oral and intravenous antibiotic therapy. The microbiological analysis of the ear secretions revealed Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Haemophilus influenzae to be the main infectious agents of acute otitis media, whereas in chronic otitis media Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus sp. could be detected in most of the cases. Ofloxacin levels of ear secretions, mucosa specimens of the middle ear and serum were measured in some patients by means of HPLC. In most cases, drug levels exceeded the MICs for the bacteria mentioned above. The correlation with the clinical results is discussed. On the basis of these preliminary results, ofloxacin can be considered as a highly efficient oral substance which is effective against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, two important pathogens of middle ear infections.