Treatment of Suppurative Otitis Media in Paediatric Patients
Thirty-nine paediatric patients with suppurative otitis media were studied. General principles of treatment were followed and sodium cefazolin ( a new cephalosporin effective even on β- lactamase-producing organisms) was given intramuscularly at a dose of 25 mg/kg every 12 hours. Clinical effectiveness was excellent, since 100% of patients were cured by the 7th day of treatment at the latest and 80% within 48 hours. Drug levels in the blood and purulent matter from the middle ear were determined in five cases, and it was found that cefazolin concentrates 2.5 times more in this secretion than in the blood. The need for myringotomy in the early stages of the disease, as well as for daily aspiration of secretion, is stressed, as is the use of an antimicrobial agent resistant to the inhibiting effect of penicillinase and cephalosporinase since, in our environment, 41% of bacteria causing this pathology produce these enzymes.