Ventilation Tubes for Recurrent Acute Otitis Media - Effects on Antibiotic Consumption and Otitis Media Episodes

Children who fulfil the criteria of recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) before they are one year of age will be randomised to ventilation tube surgery or active monitoring (50% vs 50%). Due to the nature of the intervention, blinding will not be possible. Children randomised to are randomised to active monitoring and continue to have frequent recurrences will be given the opportunity to cross between groups.

Children will be followed by the study doctors every third month until the age of two years, and after this yearly. In addition to planned visits, the families will be advised to contact the study doctors whenever they suspect that their child has a new episode of AOM. Otomicroscopy and nasopharyngeal cultures will be performed at every visit; cultures from the external ear canal will be taken when applicable. It will also be noted whether there is any perforation of the tympanic membrane, whether ventilation tubes are still in place, whether there is an ongoing episode of AOM or of otitis media with effusion (OME). At each planned visit, a parental quality of life questionnaire for children with ear disease will be completed. It will be noted how many AOM episodes the child has had since the last planned visit, how many times the patient has been prescribed oral antibiotics (also for reasons other than AOM), and if the family has seen a doctor elsewhere. At each emergency visit, it will be noted if the child has AOM or not, whether the child has fever, any signs of complications to AOM, a spontaneous perforation and whether the child´s general well-being is affected.

At the ages of 4 and 7 years and, if a hearing impairment is suspected on any other occasion, hearing tests will be performed.