Treatment of Perichondritis of the Ear Prompt oral antibiotic therapy, typically a fluoroquinolone, sometimes with an aminoglycoside plus a semisynthetic penicillin For an abscess, prompt incision and drainage Patients with diffuse inflammation of the entire pinna are given empiric antibiotics (eg, fluoroquinolones, which have good cartilage penetration) and often a systemic corticosteroid for its anti-inflammatory effects.