acute otitis media

Acute otitis media

Inflammation of the middle ear with signs of infection lasting less than three months.

Mentioned in: Myringotomy and Ear Tubes

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acute otitis media

Acute ear infection ENT A bacterial or viral middle ear inflammation that is most common in children, which presents with a rapid onset of pain, irritability, anorexia, or vomiting Risk factors Children with siblings, day care centers with ≥ 7 children, ♂, Native Americans, Eskimos, tobacco smoke, family history of atopy; AOM is ↓ in summer and in breast-fed infants Microbiology S pneumoniae, H influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, RSV, rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza virus; OM is more common in children as their eustachian tubes are shorter, narrower, and more horizontal than adults Risk factors Recent illness, crowded or unsanitary living conditions, heredity, high altitude, cold climate, bottle feeding allowing fluid to pool in the throat at the eustachian tube Treatment 1^st-line, amoxicillin; 2^nd-line, amoxicillin-clavulanate, TS, erythromycin-sulfisoxazole See Otitis externa, Otitis media.