Recurrent acute otitis media--prophylactic penicillin treatment: a prospective study. Part I

Recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) is a distressing clinical manifestation of middle ear pathology, mainly expressed in the first two years of life. In this controlled study, prophylactic treatment by phenoxymethyl penicillin reduced significantly the frequency of RAOM in 60 children, as compared to 48 children who received a short ampicillin course only on the occasion of an acute otitis media episode. The importance of breastfeeding, age at initial episode, the type of treatment given and the pertinent literature is discussed. A working hypothesis of this prophylactic treatment is suggested.