These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Once-daily ofloxacin otic solution versus neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone otic suspension four times a day: a multicenter, randomized, evaluator-blinded trial to compare the efficacy, safety, and pain relief in pediatric patients with otitis externa.
    Author: Schwartz RH.
    Journal: Curr Med Res Opin; 2006 Sep; 22(9):1725-36. PubMed ID: 16968576.
    Abstract:
    INTRODUCTION: Otitis externa (OE) is an infection of the external auditory canal affecting children and adults and is associated with symptoms of local pain and tenderness. Twice-daily topical treatment with ofloxacin otic solution (0.3% [Floxin otic solution]) for 10 days has been reported to be as effective and well tolerated as neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone otic suspension (Cortisporin otic suspension) administered four times daily for 10 days. OBJECTIVE: This study compared the efficacy, safety, and ear-pain resolution of once-daily ofloxacin otic solution (0.3%) versus neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone otic suspension administered four times daily, in children with OE. RESEARCH DESIGN, PATIENTS, AND METHODS: This multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, evaluator-blinded study was conducted at 34 centers in 278 pediatric OE patients aged 6 months to 12 years. Patients received five drops of ofloxacin otic solution (0.3%) in the affected ears once daily or three drops of neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone otic suspension four times daily, for 7-10 days. Patient evaluations were performed at pretherapy (day 1), end of therapy (days 7-9), and test of cure (7-10 days post-treatment) visits. Data for 208 patients were clinically evaluable and those for 90 patients were microbiologically evaluable. Scores were obtained for patient assessments of pain severity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The overall clinical response was cure in the clinically evaluable patients, demonstrated by resolution of OE signs and symptoms at the test of cure visit. The overall clinical-microbiological response was cure in the microbiologically evaluable patients demonstrated by both clinical cure and microbiological eradication. RESULTS: For the clinically evaluable patients, equivalent cure rates were obtained between the once-daily ofloxacin-treated and four-times-daily neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone-treated patients (93.8% and 94.7%, respectively). For the clinically and microbiologically evaluable patients, the overall cure rates were 96.4% versus 97.1% for the ofloxacin-treated and neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone-treated patients, respectively. The eradication rates for the prevalent pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were 98% versus 100% for ofloxacin-treated and neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone-treated patients, respectively. Decreases in pain severity were similar in both treatment groups. Statistical analyses were limited by the small numbers of patients in each treatment group. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of OE in children, once-daily ofloxacin otic solution was as effective and safe as neomycin sulfate/polymyxin B sulfate/hydrocortisone otic suspension given four times daily. The two treatments provide rapid and comparable pain relief; however, ofloxacin otic solution does not have the risk of ototoxicity associated with neomycin and provides effective pain relief without adjunctive steroids.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]