Topical Detergent Antibiotics in the Treatment of Tuberculous Sinuses

In chronic infected sinuses, either tuberculous or non-tuberculous, the efficiency of the treatment will increase in direct proportion to the intimacy of the contact between the antibiotic and the pathogen. Using a quarternary ammonium compound (Zephiran) as a detergent with penicillin and streptomycin in very minute amounts, we have closed permanently a chronic tuberculous sinus. We emphasize the permanency of the closure because the technique described above, using known fundamentals in genetics, decreases the development of bacterial resistant strains. The simple topical approach, because of the relatively minute amount of streptomycin used, avoids the danger of systemic tissue damage.