Efficacy of boric acid therapy in a pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced chronic otitis media model in rats

Abstract

Purpose: Chronic otitis media (COM) is one of the common infectious diseases of the middle ear caused by bacterial or viral pathogens. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of boric acid (BA) in the treatment of COM by comparing topical 4% and 8% BA applications with systemic ciprofloxacin in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) inoculation-induced model of COM in rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-two Sprague Dawley rats were divided into seven equal groups. The COM model was created with P. aeruginosa. Clinical, histopathological and, immunohistochemical comparisons were performed between the control, COM, topical 4% and 8% BA treatment, a systemic ciprofloxacin treatment, and topical 4% and 8% BA contact groups. Results: In the COM model, moderate edema, inflammation, degeneration and moderate tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) expression were detected with the application of 4% BA. Mild edema, inflammation, degeneration, and mild TNF-α expression were detected with 8% BA application. Conclusion: Both 4% and 8% BA treatment provided significant clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical improvement. The application of 8% BA was found to exhibit greater therapeutic efficacy, with no harmful effect on the middle ear mucosa.