Effect of Erythromycin on Adenoid Bacteria

Seventy-eight patients with secretory otitis media were given erythromycin ethylsuccinate 50 mg/kg/day, divided into 2 doses, for 7-8 days before undergoing adenoidectomy and tympanostomy. Nasopharyngeal swabs for bacterial culture were obtained before medication and at surgery and the adenoid homogenate was also studied for bacteria. Pneumococci and Branhamella strains became significantly reduced, while Hemophilus influenzae showed no change. Pneumococcus and Branhamella strains partially returned one month after surgery and in part were found in patients who had not had these strains before antimicrobial therapy. Erythromycin ethylsuccinate can sterilize neither the adenoids nor the middle ear space if the causative agent is Hemophilus influenzae.