Evaluation of Newer Drugs in the Treatment of Otitis Externa

FROM the number of articles that have been written recently on external otitis, it is evident that this subject is receiving an increasing amount of study. Many of the articles are misleading, but some unanimity of opinion is apparent. The trend of thought seems to favor bacteria as the commonest etiologic factor, relegating fungi to a lesser role and stressing the importance of bacteria as causative agents. Infections of the external ear constitute from 5 to 40 per cent of all the cases seen in the otologist's office. The number increases in the subtropical and temperate zones, reaching as high as 50 per cent in many localities, but no geographic locality is exempt. Seasonal variations influence the type of infection. Hayes and Hall¹conducted a series of bacteriologic studies and found that gram-positive organisms were more prevalent in the winter months and the pyocyaneus and proteus organisms prevailed in the