Cochrane · systematic review · CD015254
Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children
Mulvaney, CA, Galbraith, K, Webster, KE, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2023 · Cochrane Library
ENTAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
8
current version
GRADE rated
6
No studies
2
Included studies
NR
No studies 2 · 25%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 4 · 50%Low 2 · 25%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Antibiotics compared to placebo for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children
Population: children (aged 6 months to 12 years) with otitis media with effusion (OME)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Hearing ‐ return to normal hearing (as complete improvement in air‐bone gap in the worst ear) Antibiotics vs placebo | Peto OR 9.59 [3.51, 26.18] | NR | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Disease‐specific quality of life Antibiotics vs placebo | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Presence/persistence of OME Antibiotics vs placebo | RR 0.89 [0.68, 1.17] | NR | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness |
Adverse event: anaphylaxis Antibiotics vs placebo | no estimate extracted | NR | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness |
Antibiotics compared to no treatment for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children
Population: children (aged 6 months to 12 years) with otitis media with effusion (OME)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Hearing ‐ hearing threshold‡ (3 months; short‐term) № of participants: 73 (1 RCT) Antibiotics vs no treatment | no estimate extracted | NR | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Disease‐specific quality of life Antibiotics vs no treatment | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Presence/persistence of OME (up to 3 months) № of participants: 542 (6 RCTs) Antibiotics vs no treatment | RR 0.64 [0.5, 0.8] | NR | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Adverse event: anaphylaxis Antibiotics vs no treatment | no estimate extracted | NR | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |