Treatment of Middle Ear Infection
Once the diagnosis of acute otitis media is established, the objectives of treatment are to resolve the symptoms, treat the infectious process with antibiotics, and prevent a recurrence. Prescription and administration of Antibiotics are controversial in the treatment of acute otitis media, and recommendations vary by guidelines your healthcare facility follows. It is believed that up to 90% of patients with acute otitis media recover spontaneously within two weeks with just nutritional support and symptomatic treatment, consequently, antibiotics should not be administered to all children at first.
Delaying antibiotic medication in certain patients decreases treatment costs, reduces adverse effects, and limits the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. The wait-and-see approach approved by the American academies of pediatrics has its guidelines, so it should not be applied to all patients with otitis media. Analgesics such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen are also prescribed to relieve the pain. Aspirin is less commonly used to reduce pain in children to avoid Reye’s syndrome.
Surgical intervention is indicated in certain scenarios of otitis media. Patients who have acute otitis media with a bulging and congested eardrum that medication failed to relieve after 48 hours are indicated to have a myringotomy. Myringotomy is a surgical procedure in which a small incision (hole) is made in the eardrum to allow fluid accumulating in the middle ear to be drained through the external auditory canal.
The aim of myringotomy other than drainage of fluid or pus from the middle ear is to avoid uncontrolled rupture of the ear drum. In cases of chronic otitis media with effusion, myringotomy could be indicated in addition to the insertion of a ventilation tube to prevent the continuous buildup of fluids in the middle ear.
