Diagnostic accuracy and the observation option in acute otitis media: the Capital Region Otitis Project

Studies of acute otitis media indicate that deferring antibiotics in selected patients is a valid option. This study sought to determine the effects of a multifaceted educational intervention on disease management and treatment attitudes in practitioners caring for acute otitis media (AOM).

An expert committee composed of clinical and public health practitioners was convened which reviewed current evidence-based literature on diagnosis and treatment of AOM. A survey instrument to measure attitudes was fashioned and administered to 150 invited practitioners before and after a daylong educational intervention. The intervention was composed of two diagnostic otoscopy workshops; a lecture on an antibiotic-centered approach to treatment, followed by a lecture on the Dutch "observation without antibiotic option" (OWAO), which in 1998 involved withholding antibiotic prescription for selected patients over the age of 2 for up to 72 h; and a concluding "Miller Interactive Process"--small group sessions on five key clinical management questions.

Significant short-term changes occurred in practitioners' attitudes in importance of ear pulling as a diagnostic symptom (P = 0.034) and clinical findings in the tympanic membrane for the diagnosis of AOM (P = 0.006). Significant changes towards increased comfort of practitioners' management attitudes were found in managing selected patients without antibiotics (P = 0.057), using shortened courses of antibiotics (P = 0.001), and using high dose amoxicillin (80 mg/kg/day) as a second line drug (P = 0.001).

Practitioners' attitudes about managing AOM can be modified in the short-term with an educational intervention combining didactic, hands-on, and interactive learning that incorporates evidence-based medicine.