CIPROFLOXACIN
Formear
Instill 3-4 drops into affected ear twice daily x 7 days
(Children >1 year: 3 drops twice daily into affected ear for 7 days)
| Over 1 year: | 3 drops twice daily into affected ear for 7 days |
|---|
WATCH group - carries resistance cost. Egyptian EML 2025.
Egyptian National Drug Formulary - Antimicrobial 2023
A discharging ear means the eardrum is perforated until proved otherwise, so the drop has to be safe behind a perforation. Ciprofloxacin is non-ototoxic and covers the Pseudomonas and staphylococci that cause it. That safety, not the spectrum, is the reason it is first choice.
- Do NOT use aminoglycoside ear drops - gentamicin, neomycin, framycetin - when the drum may be perforated. They can cause permanent, irreversible deafness, and a discharging ear is a perforated ear until you have seen otherwise.
- Clean debris from ear canal prior to instillation.
- Keep ear canal dry during treatment.
- Foul-smelling discharge, a retraction pocket, or granulation tissue at the drum edge suggests cholesteatoma. That is a surgical problem - refer to ENT rather than repeating drops.
- Discharge with facial weakness, vertigo, severe pain, or swelling and tenderness behind the ear is mastoiditis or an intracranial complication - same-day referral.
- Discharge that will not stop after two proper courses, or that returns as soon as treatment ends, needs ENT assessment and a swab.
- Egypt also registers OTOXIN 3 mg/mL ofloxacin ear drops (11 EGP), equally non-ototoxic and a reasonable alternative. It is not listed as its own option because no dosing label for it could be opened, and no dose is shown here that cannot be cited.
- Ciprofloxacin is safe with a perforated tympanic membrane (non-ototoxic).
| Egyptian brand | Manufacturer | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|
| CIPRO 0.3% EAR DROPS 10 ML | CID | 15.00 EGP |