Insecticidal activity of common reagents for insect foreign bodies of the ear.
OBJECTIVE
Insects commonly present as painful and distressing foreign bodies of the external ear canal. Removing live insects can be challenging, especially for primary care physicians who have limited equipment. The purpose of this study is to compare the insecticidal activity of commonly available preparations for insects that are most frequently recovered from ear canals: cockroaches (German and American), ticks, beetles, and honeybees.


METHODS
Prospective, blinded.


METHODS
One hundred seventy insects of each species were placed in test tubes and submerged in 17 test preparations (10 tubes per preparation, 1 insect per test tube). Insect activity was stimulated by agitation of the test tube. Responses were monitored, and the time until death was measured.


RESULTS
Most test preparations exhibited some insecticidal activity against most insect species. Ticks were completely resistant to all of the test reagents. Ethanol killed the American cockroaches (mean time, 32.6 s), German cockroaches (mean time, 29.6 s), and honeybees (mean time, 19.6 s) the most rapidly.


CONCLUSIONS
Many commonly available reagents may be used to kill or immobilize insect foreign bodies of the ear.
Antonelli
P J
PJ
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0264, USA.
Ahmadi
A
A
Prevatt
A
A
D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001516:Bees; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003042:Cocaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003058:Cockroaches; D001517:Coleoptera; D003902:Detergents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004424:Ear Canal; D000431:Ethanol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007313:Insecta; D007306:Insecticides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016014:Linear Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D012997:Solvents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013748:Tetracaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013987:Ticks; D013997:Time Factors; D014743:Videotape Recording
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D003902:Detergents; D007306:Insecticides; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D012997:Solvents; D013748:Tetracaine; D000431:Ethanol; D008012:Lidocaine; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D003042:Cocaine; D019342:Acetic Acid; D002710:Chlorhexidine