Acute otitis media: clinical course among children who received a short course of high dose antibiotic.

doi:10.1136/bmj.291.6504.1243

Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985;291:1243-1246 (2 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.291.6504.1243

Acute otitis media: clinical course among children who received a short course of high dose antibiotic.

J Bain, E Murphy, F Ross

A prospective study was carried out in 274 children aged 3 to10 years with acute otitis media. They were randomly allocatedto one of two treatment regimens: (a) a seven day course ofamoxycillin 125 mg three times a day, and (b) a two day courseof amoxycillin 750 mg twice a day. They were followed up bysymptom diaries and clinical examination. The findings in the243 children who completed the trial showed that the short courseof treatment was as effective as the seven day course in thespeed of resolution of symptoms and signs, irrespective of previoushistory of otitis media or of episodes in which bulging of theeardrums was observed at presentation. A subgroup of 185 childrenwas followed up for one year after entry to the trial. Duringthis period no appreciable differences emerged between the twoantibiotic regimens, either in recurrence rate of otitis mediaor in the frequency of hearing loss at one month and six monthsafter entry to the study. Side effects of treatment were few,and those that could be attributed to antibiotic use occurredwith equal frequency in the two treatment groups.

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