Treatment of Clogged Tympanostomy Tubes: An Off-Label Use of Dornase Alfa (Pulmozyme®)

May 13, 2026 updated by: University of Colorado, Denver
The purpose of this study is to evaluate Pulmozyme® (dornase) as compared to a standard ear drop Floxin® (ofloxicin) to dissolve clogged tubes. This study will monitor the use of the new drug for any problems related to the medication. Patients are being asked to be in this study because they had tubes placed for the treatment of chronic ear infection and the tube(s) are now clogged. Clogged tubes are a common problem found in children with tubes. This problem occasionally is improved with ear drops like Floxin®. However, it is frequently not improved even after this standard ear drop treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The success in treating blocked tubes may relate to the ability to dissolve the material clogging the tube as well as dealing with the thick fluid in the middle-ear. The reasoning behind this study is that the use of Pulmozyme® may be able to treat both of these problems. Pulmozyme® was approved by the FDA in 1994 for the treatment of cystic fibrosis patients. Infections present in airway (lung) secretions of cystic fibrosis patients and the material that plugs ear tubes are in some ways the same. "Off-label" use of a drug is the practice by physicians to use a FDA-approved drug in treating conditions other than what the original approval was intended for. Pulmozyme® has been used to treat other lung diseases not related to cystic fibrosis. There has been no published report on the use of Pulmozyme® to treat ear infections. This study is a clinical trial that compares two treatments and will last for 3 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

41

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Colorado
      • Denver, Colorado, United States, 80218
        • The Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • subjects from age 1 to 18 years who have undergone tube placement in the previous 9 months.
  • subjects with middle-ear fluid on entry into the study will be required to have had a prior normal hearing test.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • subjects with symptoms of an acute otitis media (otalgia or otorrhea), sensorineural hearing loss,cranio-facial syndromes, cystic fibrosis, prior ear surgery except tube placement, sensitivity to fluoroquinolones and presence of granulation tissue in the lumen of the tympanostomy tubes will be excluded.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: dornase alfa (Pulmozyme®)
dornase alfa - Pulmozyme®: 5 drops twice daily for 7 days to the affected ear.
Drug: dornase alfa (Pulmozyme®)
This study will compare two treatment arms. Patients will be randomized to either traditional treatment (Ofloxin)or to experimental treatment [dornase alfa (Pulmozyme®)]. Each arm will have subjects instilling 5 drops twice daily for 7 days to the affected ear.
Active Comparator: Ofloxin
Ofloxin : 5 drops twice daily for 7 days to the affected ear.
Drug: dornase alfa (Pulmozyme®)
This study will compare two treatment arms. Patients will be randomized to either traditional treatment (Ofloxin)or to experimental treatment [dornase alfa (Pulmozyme®)]. Each arm will have subjects instilling 5 drops twice daily for 7 days to the affected ear.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Patency of the Tympanostomy Tube at the Day-14 Visit.
Time Frame: 14 days
14 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Presence or Absence of Drainage in the Ear Canal and Fluid in the Middle Ear at the the Day-14 Visit.
Time Frame: 14 days
Outcome measure data table represents the absence of drainage at day- 14
14 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Colorado, Denver

Collaborators

Genentech, Inc.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kenny H Chan, MD, The Children's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 4, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2007

First Posted (Estimated)

January 8, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 13, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 06-0556
  • BB-IND Number: 100242

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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