ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2004
Pharmacological treatment of acute otitis media in children. A comparison among seven locations: Tenerife, Barcelona and Valencia (Spain), Toulouse (France), Smolensk (Russia), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Sofia (Bulgaria).
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic efficacy of azithromycin and acetylcysteine in chronic otitis media with effusion.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2017Trial
- Have guidelines affected ear, nose, and throat specialists' diagnoses and the prescription of antibiotics for acute otitis media?Iranian journal of otorhinolaryngology · 2012Article
- Identifying how age and gender influence prescription drug use in a primary health care environment in Catalonia, Spain.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2008Article
- Restricted indications for the use of antibiotics in acute otitis media.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2004Article
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe patterns observed in the treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) in several locations of five countries. PATIENTS AND
methodsCross-sectional, descriptive study. Random sample of 12,264 paediatric outpatients seen by paediatricians or general practitioners (GPs). Data on patient demographics, diagnoses and treatment were collected. Diagnoses were coded by ICD-9 and drugs by ATC classification. Patients diagnosed with AOM (ICD-9 codes: 381 and 382) were selected for analysis.
resultsCases of AOM (873) accounted for 7.1% of the sample. There is a clear variation in the percentage of children diagnosed with AOM and treated with antibiotics in the different locations, antibiotic prescriptions being higher in Barcelona (93% of children), and lowest in Smolensk (56.4 % of children were treated without antibiotics). The antibiotics used varied widely: ampicillin use is almost limited to Smolensk (26.7%) and Bratislava (13.8%), whereas amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid is the choice in Toulouse (33.8%), Valencia (30.2%) and Barcelona (28.9%), and cephalosporins are more frequently prescribed in Tenerife (51.7%). Finally, macrolides are used in Barcelona (18.3%), Valencia (17.5%) and Tenerife (13.6%), but not prescribed in Toulouse or Sofia. Prescriptions of anti-inflammatory drugs were only relevant in Valencia (31.7%), Tenerife (27.2%) and Toulouse (17.4%) and of otological preparations in Sofia, where almost each child received ear drops (91.9%). Nasal preparations are commonly used only in Sofia (41.9%), Bratislava (65.5%) and Smolensk (68.6%).
conclusionDespite the general agreement of most guidelines, wide differences in the treatment of uncomplicated AOM in children are observed. Non-antibiotic therapy for AOM and the use of first-choice antibiotics should be more actively encouraged in the primary care centres. Studies to measure prevailing rates of antibiotic resistance in these populations are needed.
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