Roxythromycin prevents endotoxin-induced otitis media with effusion in the guinea pig.

Pharmacological agents that can normalize or enhance the ciliary and mucociliary activity of the tubotympanum should also be able to break the vicious circle of chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). Roxythromycin (RXM) has been shown to enhance the ciliary activity in vitro and also stimulate the mucociliary activity in vivo and may therefore, when clinically applied, prevent not only occurrence but also recurrence of clinical OME. The present study was designed to discuss the possible preventive effect of RXM on endotoxin-induced OME in the guinea pig. A total of 120 guinea pigs were used. The normal control group was treated with intratympanic injection of 0.1 ml of physiologic saline solution. The saline-control group was treated with oral administration of physiologic saline solution for 14 successive days. The low-dosage group and the high-dosage group were treated with oral administration of 5 and 50 mg/kg of sairei-to for 14 successive days, respectively. Then, the saline-control group, the low...