Editorials

Acute otitis media in children

Most general practitioners in Britain would treat a child with acute otitis media with antibiotics.¹ However, papers published recently in the BMJ cast doubt on the effectiveness of this policy.^{2 3} The authors concluded that antibiotics offer only limited benefits and that most children with acute otitis media can be managed without them. If justified, the authors' conclusions would have important implications for British general practice. Acute otitis media is one of the commonest childhood problems seen by general practitioners. Every year, about 10% of under 5 year olds and 3.5% of 5-15 year olds are seen by their general practitioner at least once with the condition. Hence, a typical general practitioner will see about 20 children with acute otitis media every year.⁴ As there are more than 30 000 general practitioners in Britain, a more restricted role for antibiotics in the management of acute otitis media would lead to a . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Acute otitis media in children

Tom Fahey, Deborah Sharp, Azeem Majeed, and Tess Harris
BMJ 1998 316: 630. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Steele, R. W., Blumer, J. L., Kalish, G. H. (2002). Patient, Physician, and Nurse Satisfaction with Antibiotics. CLIN PEDIATR 41: 285-299 [Abstract]  
• Johansen, E. C. J., Lildholdt, T., Damsbo, N., Eriksen, E. W. (2000). Tympanometry for diagnosis and treatment of otitis media in general practice. Fam Pract 17: 317-322 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Cates, C. (1999). An evidence based approach to reducing antibiotic use in children with acute otitis media: controlled before and after study. BMJ 318: 715-716 [Full text]  
• Bauchner, H., Philipp, B. (1998). Reducing Inappropriate Oral Antibiotic Use: A Prescription for Change. Pediatrics 102: 142-144 [Full text]  
• Fahey, T., Sharp, D., Majeed, A., Harris, T. (1998). Acute otitis media in children. BMJ 316: 630a-630 [Full text]  
• Low, D. E., Scheld, W. M. (1998). Strategies for Stemming the Tide of Antimicrobial Resistance. JAMA 279: 394-395 [Full text]