Acute Otitis Media in Children

A group of 212 children in a partnership practice suffered from acute otitis media in the course of 1 year. These children were subjected to clinical surveillance by their general practitioners and were offered an independent follow-up examination 3 months after the onset of the illness by an otolarygologist. Their mothers were interviewed by a social worker who completed a questionnaire covering 31 items. Selected clinical findings from the general practitioner's record and from the final follow-up examination were compared with selected factors from the social study. It was found that children with less favourable social backgrounds had a poorer experience of medical supervision and poorer end results following treatment.