UTRECHT, Netherlands—Recurrent ear infections occur 20 percent more often in children who repeatedly use antibiotics, according to a University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands, study.
In the double blind randomized, placebo controlled trial (BMJ. 2009 Jun 30;338:b2525), 168 children aged 6 months to 2 years with ear infections were studies during a three-year period. Ear infections reoccurred in 63 percent of the children who received the antibiotic amoxicillin at the first infection and in 43 percent of the children who received a placebo.
However, the study also found that 30 percent of children in the placebo group had ear, nose and throat surgery after their initial infection, compared with 21 percent in the amoxicillin group.
The researchers called for a more judicious use of antibiotics in children with ear infections.