Otitis media, or ear infections, are the most common reason children are prescribed antibiotics in the United States. The typical 10-day course of treatment can be difficult to administer to children and may contribute to antibacterial resistance.
The new gel consists of fats that assist the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in crossing the eardrum where it is released over the span of a week. For the trial, ten chinchillas with bacterial infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae bacteria, a common cause of otitis media, were administered the gel. All ten were cured of the ear infection and traces of antibiotics were not later detected in the blood of the animals, which suggests similar future pediatric treatments may spare children the potentially adverse side effects of antibiotic exposure.
“It would be great to have something like this available,” Jose Rosa-Olivares, MD, director of the pediatric care center at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, told HealthDay. “Otitis media infections in children are an extremely common reason for doctor and emergency room visits. So, to be able to provide a treatment that decreases the need to give an oral medication and improve compliance would be looked on favorably.”
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