WEDNESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) — Repeated use of antibiotics to treat acute ear infections in young children increases the risk of recurrent ear infections by 20 percent, according to researchers in the Netherlands who called for more prudent use of antibiotics in young children.
The researchers found that 63 percent of children given the antibiotic amoxicillin experienced a recurrent ear infection within three years, compared with 43 percent of children given a placebo at the time of their initial infection.
The finding came from a survey of parents of 168 children, 6 months to 2 years old, who took part in a study on the use of antibiotics to treat ear infections. The study results are published in the July 1 online edition of BMJ.
In the group given amoxicillin, 47 out of 75 children had at least one recurrent ear infection, compared with 37 of 86 children in the placebo group. That equated to a 2.5 times higher risk of recurrent ear infection for the amoxicillin group.
However, the study also found that 30 percent of children in the placebo group had ear, nose and throat surgery after their initial infection, compared with 21 percent in the amoxicillin group.
The higher recurrence rate among children who took amoxicillin could be due to a weakening of their body’s natural immune response as a result of taking an antibiotic at the initial stage of infection, the researchers said. Antibiotic use in such cases may cause an “unfavorable shift” toward the growth of resistant bacteria.
Antibiotics may reduce the length and severity of the initial ear infection, but may also result in a higher number of recurrent infections and antibiotic resistance, the researchers stated. Because of this, they said, doctors need to be careful in their use of antibiotics in children with ear infections.
More information
The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about acute ear infections.
— Robert Preidt
SOURCE: BMJ, news release, June 30, 2009
Last Updated: July 01, 2009
Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Related Links:
Comments (2)
and i thought antibiotics were supposed to suppress infections. well hopefully the one i’m taking for my strep throat symptoms will not do this.
Chiropractic treatment has been shown to be very effective in reducing or eliminating ear infections, as indicated by a recent pilot study involving over 330 children. Though more research is needed to provide definite proof, many chiropractors themselves can attest to the effectiveness of the treatment.
By loosening up tight muscles in the neck and realigning the neck bones, a chiropractor is able to relieve pressure on the Eustachian tube, allowing it to regain its normal function of draining the inner ear.
After contracting a virus that has been causing lasting ear pain and fluid build-up in the middle ear in all other known patients, I applied these chiropractic principles to my own situation. I eliminated the neck pain I had been suffering, and the ear pain immediately eased. By stretching my mouth open and thus causing the Eustachian tube to open up, I was able to drain most of the fluid from my ear. My hearing has returned to normal and I have not experienced any pain since.
Regular visits to the chiropractor can ensure adequate drainage of the middle ear, which can help to prevent the growth of bacteria in the ear by keeping the ear dry and regularly supplied with fresh air.