Antibiotics and Ototoxicity: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Ototoxicity is a medical condition related to ear poisoning due to exposure to drugs or chemicals that cause damage to the inner ear or vestibulocochlear nerve. Ototoxic drugs cause ototoxic hearing loss (OHL), compromising hearing function, by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and damaging mitochondria at the cellular level, and causing symptoms such as tinnitus, difficulty understanding speech, and balance disorders. Known ototoxic drugs include antibiotics, ring diuretics, and cisplatin-based chemotherapy agents. In recent years, the use of new drugs and combination therapies has increased the incidence of OHL. In particular, the class of antibiotics most likely to cause hearing loss are aminoglycosides such as gentamicin, streptomycin, and neomycin, which are often used to treat severe or life-threatening bacterial infections. The increased susceptibility to developing hearing or balance problems due to the use of aminoglycoside antibiotics may also be due to a genetic predisposition. Since ototoxicity can lead to serious and sometimes irreversible effects, the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of ototoxicity are fundamental steps to safeguard a patient's health, especially in subjects undergoing known treatments related to this pathology.

Dr. Carla Laria
Dr. Anna Rita Fetoni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.