Objective To determine the effect of antibiotic treatment for acute otitis media in children between 6 months and 2 years of age.

The incidence rate of acute mastoiditis in the Netherlands is higher than in many countries with higher antibiotic prescription rates. Although the potential benefits of restricted use of antibiotics (i.e. cost reduction, fewer side effects from antibiotics and less antimicrobial resistance) are beyond dispute, such strategy may be associated with a somewhat higher incidence of acute mastoiditis.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of ear drops containing acetic acid, corticosteroid and acetic acid, and steroid and antibiotic in acute otitis externa in primary care. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting 79 general practices, Netherlands. Participants 213 adults with acute otitis externa. Main outcome measures Primary outcome: duration of symptoms (days) according to patient diaries. Secondary outcome: cure rate according to general practitioner completed questionnaires and recurrence of symptoms between days 21 and 42. Results Symptoms lasted for a median of 8.0 days (95% confidence interval 7.0 to 9.0) in the acetic acid group, 7.0 days (5.8 to 8.3) in the steroid and acetic acid group, and 6.0 days (5.1 to 6.9) in the steroid and antibiotic group. The overall cure rates at seven, 14, and 21 days were 38%, 68%, and 75%, respectively. Compared with the acetic acid group, significantly more patients were cured in the steroid and acetic acid group and steroid and antibiotic group at day 14 (odds ratio 2.4, 1.1 to 5.3, and 3.5, 1.6 to 7.7, respectively) and day 21 (5.3, 2.0 to 13.7, and 3.9, 1.7 to 9.1, respectively). Recurrence of symptoms between days 21 and 42 occurred in 29% (50/172) of patients and was seen significantly less in the steroid and acetic acid group (0.3, 0.1 to 0.7) and steroid and antibiotic group (0.4, 0.2 to 1.0) than in the acetic acid group. Conclusions Ear drops containing corticosteroids are more effective than acetic acid ear drops in the treatment of acute otitis externa in primary care. Steroid and acetic acid or steroid and antibiotic ear drops are equally effective.

Prediction of recurrent acute otitis media or persistent middle ear effusion in individual young children remains poor.