Video, Ear Infections & Antibiotic Stewardship: Knowledge Translation Upon Emergency Department Discharge

As most acute otitis media cases self-resolve, observation as initial management for mild acute otitis media (AOM) is recommended by Canadian and American authorities. However, North American children receive more antibiotics for AOM than for any other reason, making AOM-related prescribing a key focus for antimicrobial stewardship interventions. Low uptake of the ED suggested management strategies may be caused by caregiver under-appreciation of antibiotic-associated harms or from problems understanding the discharge plan, of which both could be remedied by a novel video-based knowledge translation platform.

The aim of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of a follow-up large trial. The main clinical research question is: for caregivers of previously healthy children aged 6-59 months who are diagnosed by the ED physician with acute otitis media and judged to be eligible for a watchful waiting approach, will the use of an innovative informative video lead to lower rates of unnecessary antibiotic use as compared to a pamphlet or no intervention (reference standard)?

This will be a single-centre, randomized, controlled, pilot trial. Caregivers of previously well children aged 6-59 months presenting to the McMaster Children's Hospital (MCH) ED with non-severe AOM eligible for a watchful waiting approach will be enrolled and randomized to a video intervention, a pamphlet intervention, or standard care (no intervention). The primary outcome is the proportion of caregivers who fill a prescription for antimicrobials <48 hours after recruitment, as caregivers are generally advised to wait 48-72 hours prior to administering antibiotics to healthy children with mild AOM.