Introduction Otitis Externa is common ear infection with a prevalence of 1%.

Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical and microbiological efficacy and safety profile with oral ciprofloxacin in the external bacterial otitis (EBO) management.

Methods This is a prospective observational study conducted with EBO outpatients referred to the otorhinolaryngology center in Moscow between March and August 2013. Our study included patients from two cohorts, acute external bacterial otitis (AEBO) - Group 1 - and exacerbation of chronic otitis externa (CEBO) - Group 2. We administered Ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily with standard topical EBO treatment for up to 10 days. Patients underwent evaluation on study visit days 1, 3, 5, and 10 for the severity. Bacteriological examination of ear canal cultures took place on Day 1 and Day 10.

Results We collected data from 60 EBO outpatients (AEBO: N = 30 and CEBO: N = 30). Swimming was the major risk factor associated with the disease in addition to the most common pathogenic organisms - Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. was We attained complete resolution of the inflammatory process in 28 (93%) and 27 (90%) patients in the AEBO and CEBO group, respectively. We confirmed this by microbiological test with almost complete eradication of the causative organisms. Overall, we observed good positive dynamics of ear canal with no major side effects.

Conclusion We found that Ciprofloxacin 500 mg, when administered orally twice daily for 7 to 10 days in otitis externa patients is clinically and microbiologically effective and comparatively safer than other antimicrobials.