Antibiotics vs no treatment or placebo on top of topical antibiotics: Serious complications ‐ mastoid abscess measured at 12 weeks
- Population
- people with CSOM; one study included patients of unknown age; one study included children with CSOM who had not responded to initial antibiotic treatment
- Intervention
- Antibiotics
- Comparison
- no treatment or placebo on top of topical antibiotics
- Outcome
- Serious complications ‐ mastoid abscess measured at 12 weeks
It is very uncertain whether systemic antibiotics changes serious complications ‐ mastoid abscess measured at 12 weeks compared with no treatment or placebo on top of topical antibiotics (very low certainty).
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Systemic antibiotics vs no treatment or placebo on top of topical antibiotics Serious complications ‐ mastoid abscess measured at 12 weeks · people with CSOM; one study included patients of unknown age; one study included children with CSOM who had not… It is very uncertain whether systemic antibiotics changes serious complications ‐ mastoid abscess measured at 12 weeks compared with no treatment or placebo on top of topical antibiotics (very low certainty). Systemic antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media (2021) · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | RR 1.02 [0.07, 15.86] | 1 study · 101 participants | Very low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systemic antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media 2021 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | Not reported | Not extracted | Not assessed |
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.