At the Eastern Section Meeting of the Triological Society January 26,1990, Levinson et al reported outstanding success with ciprofloxacin in the treatment of malignant otitis externa. Moreover, several of the individuals so managed had been refractory to conventional therapy with semisynthetic penicillin and aminoglycoside protocols. This new class of antibiotics may result in a profound change in our management of patients with otologic, neurotologic, and skull base infections.