title: AOM in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the UK, about 30% of children under 3 years of age visit their GP each year with acute otitis media (AOM), and 97% of these receive antibiotics. In the US, AOM is the most common reason for outpatient antibiotic treatment. Without antibiotics, AOM resolves within 24 hours in about 60% of children, and within 3 days in about 80% of children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments for AOM in children; and what are the effects of interventions to prevent recurrence? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to September 2010 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 29 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: analgesics, antibiotics, delayed antibiotics, immediate antibiotics, long-term antibiotic prophylaxis, longer courses of antibiotics, myringotomy, pneumococcal vaccination, tympanostomy with ventilation tubes, xylitol syrup or gum, and influenza vaccination.
authors.affiliation: General Practice de Hof van Blom, Hattem, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roger A J M
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Damoiseaux
authors.forename: Maroeska M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Rovers
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000188:drug therapy; D012008:Recurrence; D014993:Xylitol / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014993:Xylitol