Ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone
combination drug
Ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone, sold under the brand name Ciprodex among others, is an antibiotic/steroid fixed-dose combination medication used for the treatment of ear infections. It contains ciprofloxacin, as the hydrochloride, a fluoroquinolone antibacterial; and dexamethasone, a corticosteroid. It is used as ear drops.
Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, has shown in vitro activity against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Dexamethasone acts as an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid. In 2023, it was the 283rd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 700,000 prescriptions.
Medical uses
Ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone is indicated for use in the treatment of acute otitis media and acute otitis externa (swimmer's ear) in people aged six months of age and older.
Mechanism of action
Ciprofloxacin functions as a bactericide by interfering with DNA gyrase, an enzyme with a key role in the synthesis of bacterial DNA. Dexamethasone is used in combination in order to aid in the reducing inflammatory responses that often accompany bacterial infection.
Clinical trials
In clinical trials, the median time to cessation of ear pain in ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone was five days in a sample population of 909 participants. However, the clinical trial failed to demonstrate any significant benefit of using the combination of active ingredients in ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone over ciprofloxacin alone, in regards to ear pain.
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