Question · asked by 1 review

Antibiotics vs placebo: Hearing ‐ return to normal *Ventilation tubes versus laser myringotomy (6 to 12 months ‐ medium‐term) Adjusted for non‐independence of within‐individual measurements Assumed ICC of 0.5 № of participants: 132 (2 RCTs)

Population
children aged 6 months to 12 years with otitis media with effusion (OME)
Intervention
Antibiotics
Comparison
placebo
Outcome
Hearing ‐ return to normal *Ventilation tubes versus laser myringotomy (6 to 12 months ‐ medium‐term) Adjusted for non‐independence of within‐individual measurements Assumed ICC of 0.5 № of participants: 132 (2 RCTs)

It is very uncertain whether antibiotics changes hearing ‐ return to normal hearing (as complete improvement in… compared with placebo (very low certainty).

What each review found

Include earlier review versions
FindingEffectStudiesGRADE certainty
Antibiotics vs placebo
Hearing ‐ return to normal hearing (as complete improvement in air‐bone gap in the worst ear) · children (aged 6 months to 12 years) with otitis media with effusion (OME)
It is very uncertain whether antibiotics changes hearing ‐ return to normal hearing (as complete improvement in… compared with placebo (very low certainty).
Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children (2023) · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
Peto OR 9.59 [3.51, 26.18]Not reportedVery low

Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.

The reviews

ReviewSearched up toIncluded studiesAMSTAR 2
Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children
2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
Not reportedNot extractedNot 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.