‘Wait-and-See’
Treatment for children’s ear infections reduces antibiotic use.
For children with acute ear infections, giving parents the option of using antibiotics or not resulted in reduced antibiotic use. That’s not a surprise but this is… there was almost no difference in the outcomes for children. Study results were reported in the September 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Acute otitis media (AOM; ear infection) is the most common reason for which an antibiotic is prescribed to children. Treatment of ear infections accounts for an estimated 15 million prescriptions written per year in the U.S. Interestingly, untreated ear infections have a high rate of natural resolution, with similar rates of complications whether antibiotics are prescribed
or not.
“Wait-and-see prescriptions (WASP) remain controversial as most paediatricians are trained to prescribe antibiotics for ear infections. But, the WASP approach may interrupt the cycle of antibiotic prescription, the expectation of parents to immediately treat AOM with an antibiotic, and subsequent medical visits. The risks of using antibiotics, including gastrointestinal upset, allergic reactions and bacterial resistance must be weighed against their benefits for an illness that, for the most part, is self limited,” the authors conclude.
JAMA. 2006;296:1235-1241.
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