Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26871802›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2016

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatment Options for Otitis Media: A Systematic Review.

Tal Marom, Paola Marchisio, Sharon Ovnat Tamir, Sara Torretta, Haim Gavriel, Susanna Esposito

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Use of osteopathic manipulation techniques for management of acute otitis media in pediatric patients: a scoping review.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 · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Immunity-targeted approaches to the management of chronic and recurrent upper respiratory tract disorders in children.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2019
    Review
  16. Vitamin D and Otitis Media.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2019
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tal MaromFrom the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Zerifin, Israel (TM, HG); Pediatric Highly Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy (PM, SE); Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Holon, Israel (SOT); and Otolaryngology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy (ST).
Paola Marchisio
Sharon Ovnat Tamir
Sara Torretta
Haim Gavriel
Susanna Esposito
Society of Toxicology · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Otitis media (OM) has numerous presentations in children. Together with conventional medical therapies aimed to prevent and/or treat OM, a rising number of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment options can be offered. Since OM is common in children, parents may ask healthcare professionals about possible CAM therapies. Many physicians feel that their knowledge is limited regarding these therapies, and that they desire some information. Therefore, we conducted a literature review of CAM therapies for OM, taking into account that many of these treatments, their validity and efficacy and have not been scientifically demonstrated.We performed a search in MEDLINE (accessed via PubMed) using the following terms: "CAM" in conjunction with "OM" and "children. Retrieved publications regarding treatment of OM in children which included these terms included randomized controlled trials, prospective/retrospective studies, and case studies.The following CAM options for OM treatment in children were considered: acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine/phytotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, xylitol, ear candling, vitamin D supplement, and systemic and topical probiotics. We reviewed each treatment and described the level of scientific evidence of the relevant publications.The therapeutic approaches commonly associated with CAM are usually conservative, and do not include drugs or surgery. Currently, CAM is not considered by physicians a potential treatment of OM, as there is limited supporting evidence. Further studies are warranted in order to evaluate the potential value of CAM therapies for OM.

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesHumansOtitis MediaProbioticsVitamin DVitaminsVitamin DVitamins

Identifiers

PMID26871802
PMCPMC4753897
OpenAlexW2301486053

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.