Journal
JOURNAL OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY
Volume 126, Issue 10, Pages 976-983Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0022215112001326
Keywords
Otitis Media; Practice Guideline; Diagnosis; Therapy; Mastoiditis
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Acute otitis media is very common, but diagnostic criteria and treatment recommendations vary considerably. Methods: Medline, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched using the key words 'acute otitis media' AND 'diagnosis' OR 'diagnostic criteria' OR 'definition', and by combining the terms 'acute otitis media' AND 'guidelines'. PubMed was searched using the key words 'mastoiditis' and 'prevalence'. Results: The 11 most recently published guidelines unanimously agreed that adequate analgesia should be prescribed in all cases. The majority recommended that routine antibiotic prescription should be avoided in mild to moderate cases and when there was diagnostic uncertainty in patients two years and older. Antibiotics were recommended in children two years and younger, most commonly a 5-day course of amoxicillin (or a macrolide in patients allergic to penicillin). Conclusion: Level 1A evidence shows that selected cases of acute otitis media benefit from antibiotic prescription.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available