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Shorter otitis media treatment

Giving children a short-acting antibiotic for five days is an effective treatment for uncomplicated acute otitis media (AOM), according to a meta-analysis of 32 trials.

Researchers searched MEDLINE (January 1966 to July 1997), EMBASE (January 1974 to July 1997), Current Contents (January 1997 to July 1997) and Science Citations Index to identify randomized controlled trials comparing different durations of antibiotic treatment in children diagnosed with AOM. Seven reviewers independently assessed methodological quality, and studies were included if:

• subjects were between ages 4 weeks and 18 years;

• a clinical diagnosis of AOM was made, and antimicrobial therapy was not in progress at diagnosis;

• subjects were assigned randomly to antibiotic treatment of fewer than seven days or at least seven days; and

• clinical resolution of AOM was assessed.