Providers struggle to diagnose, treat ear infections
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Physicians struggle to diagnose ear infections and often overprescribe antibiotics to children with acute otitis media, according to research published this year.
“If it is missed, a misdiagnosis will result in undertreatment and potentially allowing that child to go for another day or a couple of days with ear pain that is going to be untreated,” Healio Pediatrics Peer Perspective Board Member Alejandro Hoberman, MD, chief of the division of general academic pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told us. “Overdiagnosis results in unnecessary use of antibiotics, which increases the likelihood of resistance, or selection of strains that are more resistant.”
Hoberman and colleagues developed a smartphone app that can diagnose AOM with 94% accuracy, compared with 75% accuracy for physicians.
Although shorter antibiotic courses of 5 to 7 days are recommended, one study showed that 75% of children with AOM still receive 10-day antibiotic prescriptions.
Researchers at one pediatric health system tried to solve this problem with an electronic health record order set that preselected shorter antibiotic durations, which increased the proportion of 5-day prescriptions by 80 percentage points.
Read more about the top ear infection stories from 2024 below.
Q&A: App ‘much better’ than physicians at diagnosing ear infections
More than half of children with AOM and 32% of children with upper respiratory infections tested positive for multiple pathogens in their nasal passages, according to a study presented at IDWeek. We spoke with Hoberman about this study and the smartphone app he and colleagues developed to improve diagnosis. Read more.
Amoxicillin remains effective against ear infections, small study shows
Amoxicillin remains effective against AOM, according to the results of a small study Read more.
Most children receive too many antibiotics for ear infections, study finds
Most providers are still prescribing 10-day courses of antibiotics for AOM despite recommendations calling for shorter durations of treatment, according to study findings. Read more.
Q&A: ‘Shorter is better’ message slow to reach pediatrics
Many studies have shown that shorter courses of antibiotic therapy are just as effective as longer ones for certain infections, including ear infections. The idea is commonly referred to using the mantra “shorter is better.” Read more.
Order set cuts antibiotic use for pediatric ear infections in half
An electronic health record order set that preselected shorter antibiotic courses for AOM cut antibiotic use for pediatric ear infections in half, according to findings presented at IDWeek. Read more.
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