Description

• Inflammation of the middle ear; usually accompanied by fluid collection
• Acute otitis media (AOM): inflammation of the middle ear. Rapid onset; cause may be infectious, either viral (AOM-v) or bacterial (AOM-b), but there is also a sterile etiology (AOM-s).
• Recurrent AOM: ≥3 episodes in 6 months or ≥4 episodes in 1 year with ≥1 in the past 6 months
• Otitis media with effusion (OME): fluid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of infection
• Chronic otitis media (COM): recurrent or chronic ear infections; with or without cholesteatoma
• System(s) affected: nervous
• Synonym(s): secretory or serous otitis media, glue ear

Epidemiology

• AOM
  • Predominant age: 6 to 24 months; declines >7 years; rare in adults
  • Predominant gender: male > female
  • >80% of children have had at least 1 episode of AOM by age 3; 24% have had 3 or more episodes.
  • Placement of tympanostomy tubes is second only to circumcision as the most frequent surgical procedure in infants.
  • Increased incidence in the fall and winter
• OME
  • 90% of children have had at least one episode by age 4.

• Most common infection for which antibacterial agents are prescribed in the United States
• >5 million cases diagnosed per year in the United States

Etiology and Pathophysiology

• AOM-b (bacterial): Usually, a preceding viral upper respiratory infection (URI) can produce eustachian tube dysfunction, leading to reduced clearance.
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis are most frequent pathogens. Streptococcus pyogenes, Mycoplasma spp are less frequent.
• AOM-v (viral): 15–44% of AOM infections are caused primarily by viruses (e.g., rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, influenza, enteroviruses, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, and bocavirus).
• AOM-s (sterile/nonpathogens): 25–30%
• OME: middle ear inflammation and eustachian tube dysfunction; allergic causes are rarely substantiated.

• Strong genetic component in twin studies for recurrent and prolonged AOM
• Immunologic defects and genetic disorders (e.g., Down syndrome) can predispose changes in physical anatomy (e.g., more horizontal and ear canals) that increase likelihood in developing otitis media.

Risk Factors

• Age—developing AOM prior to 1 year of age is a risk for recurrent AOM.
• Male gender
• Bottlefeeding while supine
• Routine daycare attendance
• Family history of AOM
• Frequent pacifier use after 6 months of age
• Environmental smoke exposure
• Absence of breastfeeding
• Low socioeconomic status
• Atopy
• Underlying ear/nose/throat (ENT) disease (e.g., cleft palate, allergic rhinitis)

General Prevention

• Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV)-7 immunization reduces the number of cases of AOM by about 29% (1)[B] (however, evidence shows that this is offset by an increase in AOM caused by other bacteria).
• Influenza vaccine (2)[B]
• Breastfeeding for ≥6 months is protective (2)[B].
• Avoiding supine bottlefeeding, passive smoke, and pacifiers >6 months may be helpful.
• Secondary prevention: Adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy for recurrent AOM have limited short-term efficacy and are associated with their own adverse risks.

Commonly Associated Conditions

URI