Amoxicillin was found to have the lowest rates for both Treatment failures and reinfections among children with uncomplicated otitis median (AOM) in comparison with other broad-spectrum antibiotics. This supports its continued use in AOM as a first-line therapy. These findings were published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

In this year-long retrospective cohort study, researchers used prescription claims data to compare the effects of amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefdinir, and azithromycin on the risk for treatment failure and reinfection in children with uncomplicated AOM. The receipt of a new prescription for antibiotics within two to fourteen days or 15 to thirty days after the initial AOM diagnosis was made, and the definitions of treatment failure and reinfection, were used. Logistic regression was used for estimating the likelihood of treatment failure or reinfection based on antibiotic treatment type. Results were adjusted for patient age and sex as well as geographic and clinical settings.

A total of 1,051,007 children aged between 6 months and 12 years were included in the final analysis, of whom 93% received long-term (≥10 days) and 7% received short-term (5-7 days) antibiotic treatment. The majority of children received amoxicillin (56.6%), followed by cefdinir (20.6%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (13.5%), and azithromycin (9.3%).

Researchers compared the outcomes of amoxicillin-based treatment failures and reinfections.

The risk of reinfection was significantly higher (all P).

The post Amoxicillin remains the most effective first-line treatment for acute Media Otitis Media first appeared on Raw News.