Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in Children under 2 Years of Age

Acute otitis media is the most frequently diagnosed illness in children in the United States1 and the most commonly cited indication for antimicrobial therapy in children2; in the United States, most children with acute otitis media have routinely been treated with antimicrobial drugs. However, a watchful-waiting strategy, in which treatment is reserved for children whose condition does not improve without medication, has long been applied in several European countries in the interest of minimizing the use of antimicrobial drugs.3 In the Netherlands and Scotland, that strategy has been recommended officially for children as young as 6 months of age. . . .