Dr. J. Owen Hendley, professor of pediatrics and a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases, writes in the Oct. 10 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine that placebo-controlled trials found ear infections had gone away in one week in 81 percent of placebo recipients, as compared with 94 percent of antibiotic recipients. Hendley says there is a clear downside to the use of antibiotics to treat common ear infections. "The bacteria which cause ear infections learn quickly to be resistant to antibiotics. At some point we're going to run out of drugs to treat the problem," he says. "Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem in this country. The practice of treating eight children to help the one who needs antibiotics just makes it worse."
When they diagnose an ear infection, doctors should hold off giving antibiotics for 48 to 72 hours, Hendley advises, because the infection can clear up spontaneously. The pain and irritability that accompany ear infections should be treated with children's acetaminophen, ibuprofen or other pain relievers. Hendley, however, found that an antibiotic, such as amoxicillin, is recommended for a less common ear infection, bacterial otitis media or "pus drum", characterized by bulging eardrums and visible pus.
In addition, Hendley's review sheds light on the increasing use of tympanostomy tubes in the eardrum to help drain fluid from the middle ear in children with recurrent ear infections, usually three or four episodes within six months. Hendley says there is no benefit to children unless they suffer from more s
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Contact: Bob Beard
reb8e@virginia.edu
434-924-5679
University of Virginia Health System
10-Oct-2002