A comparative study between three topical treatments in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media

Introduction: Chronic suppurative otitis meida (CSOM) is a common ear disease with potential intra and extracranial complications. The control of infection is very important for prevention of its consequences. The aim of this study was to compare three topical treatment modalities in patients with this disease. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was performed on three groups of CSOM patients with active otorrhea but without cholesteatoma, otomycosis or ear polyps. They were treated with three different topical drug regimens: group I (combined therapy, 61 patients) with acetic acid 1.5% solution and ciprofloxacin 0.3% group II (acid therapy, 30 patients), with acetic acid 1.5% solution and group III (antibiotic therapy, 30 patients) with ciprofloxacin 0.3%. All patients were followed weekly for 4 weeks and results compared with chi-square and fisher tests. Results: At the end of second week, the infection was controlled in 95.1% of patients in group I, which was statistically greater than other two groups 50%, 73.3% respectively (p<0.0001). The response rate to topical therapy was also more than other groups in group I patients, after one week of treatment (p<0.001). In accordance with the ethical principles, 15 patients of group II and 8 patients of group III, with treatment failure, were also underwent combined therapy, which 100% of these patients in the group II and 87.5% of them in the group III, responded to treatment after two weeks. Conclusion: According to our findings, the combined topical therapy with acetic acid and ciprofloxacin is an effective and quick treatment method for control of infection and otorrhea in patients with CSOM.