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Antibiotic use and adherence to Finnish treatment guidelines in pediatric acute otitis media

Lisa Kulppi1,2, Ville Peltola3, Paula A Tähtinen3

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, Vaasa Central Hospital, Wellbeing Services County of Ostrobothnia, Hietalahdenkatu 2-4, 65130, Vaasa, Finland. lisa.kulppi@ovph.fi.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|April 26, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Amoxicillin was the most prescribed antibiotic for acute otitis media (AOM) in Finnish children, with most receiving a short 5-day course. This indicates high adherence to AOM treatment guidelines in the studied hospitals.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Finnish guidelines recommend amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate for acute otitis media (AOM).
  • Limited national data exists on real-world antibiotic prescribing for AOM.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the proportion of different antimicrobial agents prescribed for pediatric AOM.
  • To test the hypothesis that amoxicillin is the most frequently prescribed agent.

Main Methods:

  • Register-based cohort study of children under 16 with AOM in two Finnish hospitals (2023).
  • Data collected from patient charts on demographics, AOM symptoms, findings, and treatment.
  • Primary outcome: proportion of children prescribed amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, or other agents.

Main Results:

  • Amoxicillin was prescribed to 80.9% in Turku and 80.7% in Vaasa.
  • Amoxicillin-clavulanate was the second most used (10.1% and 8.7% respectively).
  • The majority of children received a short 5-day treatment course.

Conclusions:

  • A short 5-day course of amoxicillin is the most frequent antimicrobial treatment for pediatric AOM.
  • High adherence to AOM treatment guidelines observed in the studied hospitals.
Keywords:
Acute otitis mediaChildrenGuideline adherenceTreatment

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