Topical antibiotics with steroids vs topical antibiotics: Resolution of ear discharge ‐ measured at 1 to 2 weeks
- Population
- people (of any age) with chronic suppurative otitis media or ear discharge
- Intervention
- Topical antibiotics with steroids
- Comparison
- topical antibiotics
- Outcome
- Resolution of ear discharge ‐ measured at 1 to 2 weeks
Topical antibiotics with steroids may leads to lower resolution of ear discharge at between 1 to 2 weeks compared with topical antibiotics alone (low certainty).
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Topical antibiotics with steroids vs topical antibiotics alone Resolution of ear discharge at between 1 to 2 weeks · people (of any age) with chronic suppurative otitis media or ear discharge Topical antibiotics with steroids may leads to lower resolution of ear discharge at between 1 to 2 weeks compared with topical antibiotics alone (low certainty). Topical antibiotics with steroids for chronic suppurative otitis media (2020) · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | RR 0.77 [0.71, 0.84] | 7 studies · 903 participants | Low |
Topical antibiotics with steroids vs topical antibiotics alone (same antibiotics) Resolution of ear discharge at between 1 to 2 weeks · people (of any age) with chronic suppurative otitis media or ear discharge Topical antibiotics with steroids showed no clear difference in resolution of ear discharge at between 1 to 2 weeks compared with topical antibiotics alone (same antibiotics) (low certainty). Topical antibiotics with steroids for chronic suppurative otitis media (2020) · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | RR 1.08 [0.96, 1.21] | 3 studies · 335 participants | Low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topical antibiotics with steroids for chronic suppurative otitis media 2020 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | Not reported | Not extracted | Not assessed |
Related questions
The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.
- Topical antibiotics with steroids vs placebo/no treatment · chronic suppurative otitis media · 1 review
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.