Roxythromycin Stimulates the Mucociliary Activity of the Eustachian Tube and Modulates Neutrophil Activity in the Healthy Guinea Pig

Low-dosage, long-term erythromycin chemotherapy is useful in the treatment of chronic airway inflammatory diseases such as chronic sinusitis. The exact working mechanism of macrolides behind the clinical effectiveness still remains unclear. However, some have been considered including anti-inflammatory effect, effects on airway secretory functions, and steroid sparing effects. Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a chronic inflammatory disease in the tubotympanum. The epithelium of the tubotympanum is a modified respiratory epithelium. Therefore, macrolides might be effective in the treatment of patients with chronic OME. It was recently demonstrated that macrolides such as roxythromycin (RXM), enhance the ciliary activity in vitro. However, such ciliostimulatory effects found in an in vitro system are not always applicable to the mucociliary system in situ. The mucociliary system in situ might behave differently when in contact with RXM, and might deteriorate following oral administration of RXM. The pres...