Acute Otitis Media in Children—Current Treatment and Prevention

• Published in: Current infectious disease reports Vol. 17; no. 5; p. 476
• Main Author: Gisselsson-Solen, Marie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Bacterial infections; Childrens health; Clinical Medicine; Ear diseases; Infectious Diseases; Klinisk medicin; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oto-rhino-laryngologi; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatric Infectious Diseases (I Brook; Prevention; Section Editor; Topical Collection on Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Vaccines; Prevention; Watchful waiting; Treatment; Antibiotics; Acute otitis media; Vaccination; Grommets; Guidelines; Adenoidectomy
• ISSN: 1523-3847; 1534-3146; 1534-3146
• DOI: 10.1007/s11908-015-0476-7

Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common bacterial infection in children and has a very varied clinical spectrum, ranging from spontaneous resolutions to serious complications. The effect of antibiotics in AOM depends on the chosen outcome, but has been shown to reduce pain somewhat, and have a greater beneficial effect in severe cases of AOM. Today, not all episodes of AOM are treated with antibiotics, but most countries have issued guidelines that include an option of watchful waiting in many cases. Prevention of AOM reaches from modification of environmental risk factors to vaccinations and surgery. Conjugate pneumococcal vaccines and influenza vaccines have been shown to somewhat reduce the number of AOM episodes in different groups of children. Grommets, with or without adenoidectomy, are effective at least during the first 6 months after surgery.