Review: antibiotics are moderately effective for acute otitis media in children
Q Are antibiotics effective in children with acute otitis media?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Current Contents, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (to March 2003).
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared antimicrobial drugs with placebo in children with otitis media (without tympanostomy tubes). Methodological quality was assessed for randomisation method, blinding, control of selection bias after treatment assignment, and outcome assessment.
Outcomes:
pain (severity and duration), hearing (tympanometry or audiometry test results), progression of symptoms (eg, vomiting, diarrhoea, or rash; and recurrence), and complications.
MAIN RESULTS
10 RCTs met the selection criteria, of which 8 included …
