Review: children <2 years of age with bilateral acute otitis media and children with otorrhoea benefit most from antibiotics
Q Which subgroups of children with acute otitis media benefit from treatment with antibiotics?
METHODS
Data sources:
Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, and proceedings of international symposia.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared antibiotics with placebo or no treatment in children 0–12 years of age with acute otitis media and assessed pain and fever. 6 RCTs (n = 1643, mean age 3.4 y [range 0–11], 50% boys) met the selection criteria, and the authors were willing to supply raw data. Quality assessment based on 4 criteria (randomisation procedure; allocation concealment; follow up; and blinding of patients, caregivers, and outcome assessors) showed that the methodological quality of the individual trials was generally high.
Outcomes:
a composite outcome of an extended course of …
