Restricted use of antibiotic prophylaxis for recurrent acute otitis media in the era of penicillin non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae

Objective/intervention: To compare the annual rates of acute otitis media (AOM) episodes, antibiotic days, and ventilating tube insertion during the first 3 years of life before and after a practice change to restrict use of antibiotic chemoprophylaxis for recurrent AOM. Methods setting: The sole pediatric private practice in a rural Kentucky community. Patients: Population-based sample of all children born consecutively, in two different 13 month intervals. Cohort I (n = 251) was born before and Cohort 2 (n = 274) was born after restricted use of chemoprophylaxis and documented emergence of widespread penicillin non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSP). Design: Retrospective case cohort comparison. Main outcome measures: Suppurative AOM diagnosed by validated experienced otoscopists using stringent tympanic membrane criteria. Results: Children were mostly white with the majority (50-65%) enrolled in daycare during each year. The first episode of AOM was experienced by 6 and 12 months of age in 64 and 86%, respectively. Rates of children with recurrent AOM in Cohorts 1 and 2 were 28 and 31% in Year 1, 17 and 23% in Year 2, and 7 and 10%, in Year 3, respectively. Rates of new onset AOM and persistent AOM episodes were similar between cohorts in the first 2 years. Number of days of antibiotic prophylaxis were reduced from 11.2 to 3.4 days in Year 1, from 11.9 to 2.6 days in Year 2, and from 6.9 to 0.7 days in Year 3, respectively (P < 0.0001 for each year). Total antibiotic days for Years 1, 2 and 3 were reduced commensurately with prophylactic days from 61.7 to 55.5 days (nonsignificant), from 56.3 to 45.8 days (P = 0.047), and from 38.7 to 25.7 days (P < 0.0001), respectively. For each year a non-significant trend for increased ventilating tube placement from Cohort 1 to Cohort 2, respectively, was observed, 2 versus 2.2%, 4 versus 5.8%, and 0.8 versus 2.6%. Daycare attendance and white race were consistently significant risk factors for AOM and recurrent AOM. Conclusions: in the era of PNSP, restricted use of antibiotic chemoprophylaxis for recurrent AOM was not associated with significantly increased rates of new onset AOM episodes or tube placement in the first 24 months of life. Total antibiotic days were also significantly reduced in Cohort 2 during Years 2 and 3. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.