Skip to main content
Device Global Header

Subscribe
or Renew

Advanced Search

This article is available to subscribers. Subscribe now. Already have an account? Sign in

Medical IntelligenceCurrent ConceptsFree PreviewArchive

Otitis Media in Children: To Treat or Not to Treat?

List of authors.
  • Charles D. Bluestone, M.D.

OTITIS media is the most frequent diagnosis made by physicians who care for children.1 , 2 Acute otitis media is usually suppurative or purulent, but serous middle-ear effusions may also have an acute onset. Chronic otitis media with effusion has many synonyms, including such terms as "secretory," "serous," and "nonsuppurative" otitis media and "glue ear." 3 A chronic effusion may be serous, mucoid, or even purulent. In some instances, the eardrum may be retracted or collapsed without a middle-ear effusion; this condition is termed atelectasis of the tympanic membrane and is the result of persistent or intermittent negative middle-ear pressure. Chronic suppurative otitis . . .

Funding and Disclosures

Supported by a grant (5P01 NS16337–02) from the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, a grant (2P01 DE01697–19A1) from the National Institute of Dental Research and a grant (MC-R-420434–04) from the Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Bureau of Community Health Service.

* Earlier articles in this series have appeared this year in the April 15, April 29, and May 13 issues.

I am indebted to Sandra K. Arjona for assistance with preparation of the manuscript.

Author Affiliations

From the Otitis Media Research Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 125 DeSoto St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, where reprint requests should be addressed.

Print Subscriber? Activate your online access.