New study suggests antibiotics hope for glue ear
28 February 2006
Research published today calls for a reinvestigation into whether antibiotics could be used to treat glue ear.
Glue ear is a sticky build-up of fluid in the middle ear and is extremely common (over 80% of children get it at some stage). At present, surgery is the only effective treatment and glue ear is the most common reason for children undergoing surgery. It can have a devastating effect on a child’s behaviour at home and school and the development of speech and language.
A new study by Deafness Research UK looked at 2.26m patients and found that over the past ten years, the number of patients diagnosed with glue ear has almost doubled.
It also found that children with glue ear who were prescribed antibiotics were less likely to have to visit their doctor again with the same condition. The researchers found that the prescription of antibiotics caused a 10 per cent reduction in the number re-visiting their GP. This finding offers the hope of non-surgical approaches to treating glue ear for some groups of children.
The research was carried out by Dr Ian Williamson from the University of Southampton and funded by Deafness Research UK, the only medical charity dedicated to research into deafness and related conditions such as glue ear.
Dr Williamson said: “The result was very surprising because many people believe that antibiotics might either cause glue ear or are ineffective in treating it. We found that antibiotics appear to be effective in treating some groups of children with glue ear because there was less reattendance in our study if an antibiotic was prescribed and so might be a viable treatment for some children with the condition. However, we don’t yet know what group of children it works for so it would be wrong to recommend the wholesale prescription of antibiotics for children with glue ear”.
He continued: “Although we should take great care when prescribing antibiotics because of antibiotic resistance and side effects, we shouldn’t be frightened to use them in situations where there is evidence they may benefit children.”
GPs over-prescribing antibiotics for acute ear infections
Around 80 per cent of patients who visit their GP with an ear infection are currently prescribed antibiotics. However, in the same study, Dr Williamson and colleagues found that antibiotics are actually ineffective at treating acute ear infections, increasing the likelihood of patients having to revisit their GP. Prescribing encourages belief in antibiotics and reduces immunity both of which fuel further visits to the doctor.
Dr Williamson said: “There is evidence that antibiotics don’t work well for most simple ear infections in terms of reducing such symptoms as earache, but at the same time a lot of GPs are prescribing them. Our study shows that GPs are just increasing their own work loads because patients with ear infections keep coming back with the same complaint.”
This research appears in the March issue of the British Journal of General Practice.
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Further information
To find out more about Glue Ear call the Deafness Research UK Information Service on 0808 808 2222 or visit the website www.deafnessresearch.org.uk
For further information or interviews contact:
Georgina Vincent
phone 020 7679 8973
email
Notes to editors
- The paper ‘Consultations for middle ear disease, antibiotic prescribing and risk factors for reattendance: a case-linked cohort study’ by Ian Williamson, S Benge, M Mullee, and P Little is published in the March 2006 issue of the British Journal of General Practice.
- Case Studies - contact Deafness Research UK Press Office on 020 7837 8092.
- Deafness Research UK is the only national charity dedicated to supporting medical research into deafness and other hearing problems. It changed its name from Defeating Deafness on 12th September 2005.
