Mycological spectrum and efficacy of clotrimazole versus 4% boric acid in otomycosis patients presented at Assiut university hospitals clinic

Background: Otomycosis affects one or sometimes both ears. Immunocompetent people can have superficial infections such as fungal otitis externa. Aspergillus and Candida isolates in individuals with fungal otitis externa have been documented. Local debridement, systemic and local antifungal medications, and stopping topical antibiotics have all been suggested as treatments. Methods: Seventy suspected patients who visited the otolaryngology department at Assiut University Hospitals were screened for otomycosis. The results of the culture and the sensitivity test for both clotrimazole and 4% boric acid indicated that the treatment was administered locally for a minimum of two weeks. After the first week, second week, and month, all of the patients were checked on. The two antifungal reagents were tested for efficacy and side effects. Results: The mean age of the studied cases was 33.85 ± 15.1 years old. Males represented 55% of cases. The majority of patients aged between 19-30 years old representing 36.6%. The present study revealed that most cases have an infection in the left ear (54.8%). The duration of infection was 13.73 days. The study also, revealed that most cases have no comorbidities, 11.7% have diabetes mellitus (DM) and only 1.7% has both DM and hypertension (HTN). Filamentous organisms’ infection compared to the candida spp. was (70% vs. 30%, respectively). Sensitive to Clotrimazole was (65%) followed by boric acid 4% (21.7%) while (10%) were sensitive to both and (3.3%) were resistant to both. Conclusion: So, we can conclude that, fungal cultures for patients with otomycosis are a must.