ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2025
Incidence, antimicrobial prescribing practice, and associated healthcare costs of paediatric otorrhoea in primary care in the UK: a longitudinal population study.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Defining the Terminology for Acute Ear Discharge in Children: Systematic Review and Expert Consensus Using the Nominal Group Technique.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Referral and management patterns for paediatric otorrhoea across primary and secondary care: a multicentre retrospective cohort study.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- The Role of Antibody Testing and Vaccination in Paediatric Recurrent Acute Otitis Media.Cureus · 2026Article
- A survey of parental health-seeking behaviour, knowledge, and expectations around ear infection symptoms in children.BJGP open · 2026Article
- Treating paediatric otorrhoea.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Exploring the burden of paediatric acute otitis media with discharge in the UK: a qualitative study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
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11 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPaediatric otorrhoea (PO) is a symptom-based diagnosis encompassing acute and chronic ear infections that cause otorrhoea in children and young people (CYP).
aimTo understand the burden of PO on primary care services. DESIGN AND
settingThis was a longitudinal population study in UK primary care.
methodData from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD Aurum), January 2005 to December 2019, was analysed. CYP <17 years of age with otorrhoea were included. Standardised annual incidence and presentation rates were estimated. Poisson regression modelling was used to determine risk ratios comparing sex, age, and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). A probabilistic simulation scaled-up estimates for the UK population.
resultsThe cohort included 6 605 193 CYP, observed over 32 942 594 person-years. There were 80 454 people with incident cases and 106 318 presentations of PO during the 15-year period, equating to standardised annual incidence and presentation rates per 1000 patient-years of 2.42 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.40 to 2.44) and 3.15 (95% CI 3.13 to 3.17), respectively. In the UK this equates to 41 141 primary care appointments per year. Incidence was higher in males, those aged 0-2 years, and those living in the least deprived quintile. Treatment involved oral antibiotics (57.1%, 45 931/80 454), no prescription (28.1%, 22 569/80 454), topical antibiotics (9.7%, 7797/80 545), or a combination (4.9%, 3910/80 545). The cost to NHS primary care is estimated at £1.97 million per year.
conclusionTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first longitudinal population-based study investigating PO that demonstrates the burden on primary care. Antimicrobial prescribing predominantly follows National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines using oral amoxicillin. Aminoglycosides are the most frequently prescribed topical antibiotic despite the concern of ototoxicity.
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