Otitis Media and Antibiotics

Majority of children with acute otitis media may not need antibiotics.
USA Today (11/17, Szabo) reports, "Ear infections are the No. 1 reason kids get antibiotics, costing the country $2.8 billion a year." Now, a paper appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that "most of the eight million kids who see a doctor for ear infections each year don't need antibiotics." In fact, the "benefits of antibiotics seem even smaller in light of their side effects," and previous research has suggested that their overuse can spur the "growth of hardier, drug-resistant bacteria."
Before reaching those conclusions, researchers "from Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA and the RAND Corporation were asked to update guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics," the Boston Globe (11/16, Cooney) "White Coat Notes" blog reported. According to CNN (11/17, Falco), the "pediatricians' group and the American Academy of Family Physicians have suggested since 2004 that 'observation' -- avoiding antibiotics -- is an option for treating ear infections in otherwise healthy children between the ages of two and 12." Aiming to evaluate the soundness of that recommendation, investigators reviewed "existing research on the topic."
"Based on their review of more than 100 studies published over the last decade, the researchers were able to quantify the risks and benefits of treatment with antibiotics," WebMD (11/17, Boyles) reported. "They estimated that for every 100 otherwise healthy children with uncomplicated middle ear infections, about 80 could be expected to improve without antibiotics within about three days. An additional 12 children could be expected to improve during this time if all were treated with antibiotics, but three to 10 would develop a treatment-related rash and five to 10 would get diarrhea."