Adherence to acute otitis media treatment guidelines among primary health care providers in Israel

AIMS: To determine the appropriateness of the acute otitis media antibiotic treatment prescribed in the community in relation to the therapeutic guidelines. METHODS: Children aged 3 months–3 years diagnosed with simple uncomplicated acute otitis media in 6 community primary care clinics were enrolled. Data on the antibiotic treatment were collected using computerized medical files. RESULTS: 689 simple uncomplicated acute otitis media patients were enrolled; 597 (86.9%) were treated with antibiotics by 38 family medicine practitioners, 12 pediatricians and 7 general practitioners. 461 (77.2%) patients were <2 years of age. Amoxicillin was administered to 540 (90.5%) patients, with no differences between the various medical specialties. 127/540 (23.5%) patients did not receive the appropriate dosage; 140/413 (33.9%) patients treated with appropriate dosage did not receive the treatment for the appropriate duration of time. 258/357 (72.3%) evaluable patients <2 years of age received an antibiotic considered inappropriate to guidelines (38 not treated with amoxicillin, 94 received inappropriate dosage and 126 not treated for 10 days); 53/100 (53%) evaluable children >2 years of age received an inappropriate antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of primary care physicians treat simple uncomplicated acute otitis media with the recommended antibiotic drug. However, incorrect dosage and shorter than recommended duration of therapy may jeopardize the quality of care in children with simple uncomplicated acute otitis media.