COMPARATIVE STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF TOPICAL CLOTRIMAZOLE AND FLUCONAZOLE IN OTOMYCOSIS

Otomycosis is one of the common health problems encountered in the day-to-day ENT practice. The infection was present globally, with the prevalence of otomycosis between 9% and 30% in different world populations. The otomycosis diagnosis is primarily based on the patient’s history, clinical presentation, and the otoscopic examination of the external auditory canal and the tympanic membrane. Although several treatment options were available, none of them were found to be effective in curing the disease completely. So the study’s main aim is to compare the effectiveness of clotrimazole and fluconazole in treating otomycosis. This quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Department of ENT in a tertiary care centre, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. The study was conducted for 18 months, from July 2023 to December 2024. After the initial assessment, all the patients were divided into two groups. All the patients who received 1% clotrimazole ear drop were in Group A , whereas those in Group B were who received 0.3% fluconazole ear drops for 13 days. The patients were followed on the 3rd day, the 1st week, and at the end of the 2nd week and assessed. A total of 60 patients participated in the study; 35% were found to be between 31 and 40 years old, and the female patients outnumbered the male patients. 0.3% Fluconazole (Group A) showed a significant reduction in symptoms such as ear discharge, otalgia, aural block and tinnitus signs such as cartilaginous canal oedema, cartilaginous canal erythema, bony canal oedema, bony canal erythema, tympanic membrane congestion, spore, the granulation and, otitis externa than the patients who took 1% clotrimazole ear drops (Group A). Group B also showed a reduction of the fungal colonies compared to the patients in Group A; the study also showed that 80% of the patients in Group B were cured entirely compared to 60% in Group A. Our study showed that the 0.3% fluconazole ear drops reduced the fungal colonies and signs and symptoms of otomycosis more than 1% clotrimazole ear drops. The study recommends using 0.3% fluconazole ear drops among patients with otomycosis.