Improving Compliance With Antibiotic Regimens for Otitis Media

The prescription of an antibiotic for an acute infection is the most frequent medical treatment provided by pediatricians.¹Most parents purchase the prescribed medicine, but many of their children do not receive the complete antibiotic course.²Acute otitis media, one of the most common diagnoses made by pediatricians, accounts for a significant portion of antibiotic prescriptions. About 70% of children have had at least one episode of acute otitis media by the age of 3 years, and about 33% of these children have had three or more episodes.³ After ten days of antibiotic therapy for acute otitis media, approximately 50% of children have persistent otitis media,⁴,⁵and the benefits of antibiotic therapy may not differ from symptomatic treatment with analgesics and decongestants.⁶,⁷However, the incidence of suppurative complications from otitis media has dramatically decreased since antibiotic therapy has become standard pediatric practice.⁸A conservative