Ventilation tubes and prophylactic antibiotic eardrops.

Insertion of ventilation tubes has successfully remedied chronic otitis media with effusion in millions of children, but the procedure has been complicated by secondary infections and otorrhea in as many as 34% of the cases. Because infection at the time of surgery was suspected as the primary cause of these postoperative complications, short-term prophylaxis with antibiotic eardrops was proposed for averting secondary infections. To evaluate this hypothesis, we conducted a 6-month prospective study in which 200 children had bilateral tube insertions. Antibiotic eardrops were administered to patients' right ears intraoperatively and for 3 days after surgery; left ears received no eardrops and served as controls. The prophylactic strategy did not significantly decrease the incidence of postoperative otorrhea in treated right ears compared with controls.