[Assessment of the management of acute otitis media in children by family practitioners in the North of France].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the management of acute otitis media in children by paediatricians and general practitioners in the North of France compared with the AFSSAPS (Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé) guideline's recommendations of 2005.


METHODS
All eligible family paediatricians (n=68) and a group of general practitioners (n=200) first received a phone call invitation to participate to the study. The volunteers responded to a questionnaire by phone call.


RESULTS
The response rates were 67, 6 % for the group of paediatricians and 64, 5 % for the group of general practitioners. The guideline's recommendations were followed by respectively 28, 3 % and 9, 3 % of primary care physicians. The observation option, recommended in children aged more than 2 years, was followed by 46, 5 % of general practitioners and 54, 3 % of paediatricians. The durations of antibiotics were poorly respected by the 2 groups of physicians. In case of allergy to penicillin, the paediatricians followed more the recommendations than the general practitioners.


CONCLUSIONS
Educational interventions are needed in order to improve the adherence to guidelines of paediatricians and general practitioners for the management of acute otitis media in children.
Ganga-Zandzou
Patrice Serge
PS
Service de Pédiatrie, Centre Hospitalier de Roubaix, F-59056 Roubaix Cedex 1, France. serge.ganga@ch-roubaix.fr
Fermantel
Aurore
A
Robic
Claire
C
Pouessel
Guillaume
G
Pierre
Marie-Hélène
MH
Bourgois
Béatrice
B
Cixous
Emmanuel
E
Ythier
Hubert
H
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010372:Pediatrics
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents