Will Parents Participate in and Comply With Programs and Regimens Using Xylitol for Preventing Acute Otitis Media in Their Children?

Purpose Antiadhesive properties in xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol, can help prevent acute otitis media (AOM) in children by inhibiting harmful bacteria from colonizing and adhering to oral and nasopharyngeal areas and traveling to the Eustachian tube and middle ear. This study investigated parents' willingness to use and comply with a regimen of xylitol for preventing AOM in their preschool- and kindergarten-aged children. Method An Internet questionnaire was designed and administered to parents of young children in preschool and kindergarten settings. Results Most parents were unaware of xylitol's use for AOM and would not likely comply with regimens for preventing AOM in their children; however, parents having previous knowledge of xylitol and whose children had a history of AOM would be more likely to do so. Conclusions Generally, most of these parents did not know about xylitol and probably would not use it to prevent ear infections. Unfortunately, these results parallel earlier findings for teachers and schools, which present obstacles for establishing ear infection prevention programs using similar protocols for young children. The results showed that considerable education and age-appropriate vehicles for administering xylitol are needed before establishing AOM prevention programs in schools and/or at home.

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Antimicrobial Treatment of Acute Otitis Media

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/00034894941030s504 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 103 (5_suppl) ◽

pp. 11-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Daniel M. Canafax ◽

G. Scott Giebink

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Otitis Media ◽

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Antimicrobial Treatment ◽

Speech Delay ◽

Significant Morbidity ◽

Antimicrobial Drugs ◽

Etiologic Role ◽

History Of

Episodes of acute otitis media frequently occur in childhood and are attended by significant morbidity, such as hearing loss and possible speech delay. Bacteria play an important etiologic role in the pathogenesis of otitis media; therefore, antimicrobial agents are the cornerstone in the treatment of this disease. Many antimicrobial choices are available for treating children with acute otitis media. To choose an antimicrobial for each patient, consideration must be given to the patient's age, history of otitis media episodes, and responses to previously used antimicrobial drugs, and the regional antimicrobial susceptibility of the otitis media pathogens.

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Clonal similarity of salivary and nasopharyngeal Fusobacterium nucleatum in infants with acute otitis media experience

Journal of Medical Microbiology ◽

10.1099/jmm.0.05441-0 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 161-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Gunnsteinn Haraldsson ◽

W. Peter Holbrook ◽

Eija Könönen

Keyword(s):

Oral Cavity ◽

Otitis Media ◽

Anaerobic Bacteria ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Fusobacterium Nucleatum ◽

Potential Source ◽

History Of ◽

Arbitrarily Primed Pcr ◽

Inoculation Route ◽

Media Experience

The environment of an infant's nasopharynx during acute otitis media (AOM) favours the growth of anaerobic bacteria, which can be recovered frequently during infection, but hardly at all if the infant is healthy. The aim of this investigation was to identify the potential source and inoculation route of anaerobes that were present in the nasopharynx. Eleven Fusobacterium nucleatum isolates that were collected through the nasal cavity from the nasopharynx of eight infants with a history of AOM, and 161 F. nucleatum isolates from the saliva of the same infants, were typed to the clonal level by using arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR). In five of the eight infants examined, identical AP-PCR types were found among nasopharyngeal and salivary isolates. As anaerobes seem to be present only transiently in the nasopharynx and salivary contamination of the nasopharyngeal samples can be excluded, this observation indicates that the source of nasopharyngeal anaerobes is the oral cavity and that saliva is their transmission vehicle.

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Amoxicillin treatment increases rate of late recurrence of acute otitis media in young children

The Journal of Pediatrics ◽

10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.09.057 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 156 (1) ◽

pp. 163

Author(s):

Petri S. Mattila

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Otitis Media ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Late Recurrence

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Otitis Media in Infancy: Tympanometric Findings

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.63.3.435 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 435-442

Author(s):

Jessie R. Groothuis ◽

Sarah H. W. Sell ◽

Peter F. Wright ◽

Judith M. Thompson ◽

William A. Altemeier

Keyword(s):

Otitis Media ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Chronic Otitis Media ◽

Normal Pressure ◽

Pressure Curve ◽

Type B ◽

History Of ◽

Life Type ◽

Insight Into

Ninety-one normal infants were followed longitudinally for varying periods from November 1975 to April 1977 to assess the correlation between tympanometry and pneumatic otoscopy and to study the pathogenesis of acute and chronic otitis media early in life. Type A (normal) tympanograms correlated with normal otoscopic findings in 92% of instances. Type B tympanograms, indicating reduced drum compliance with a relatively flat pressure curve, were associated with abnormal otoscopic findings in 93% of cases. The A8 (reduced compliance, normal pressure) and C (normal compliance, negative pressure) tympanograms were less consistent predictors of otoscopic findings. The correlation of tympanometric and otoscopic findings were similar in infants above and below 7 months of age. Tympanometry provided some insight into the natural history of otitis in 71 infants followed 12 to 17 months. Infants who failed to develop otitis had type B curves in only one of 240 determinations (0.4%). This pattern did not appear in those who developed acute otitis media (AOM) until the month preceding the first attack; nine of 29 tests (31%) made under these circumstances were type B. When a type B curve appeared in an asymptomatic study infant who had not previously had otitis, AOM developed within a month in nine of ten instances. At the time of diagnosis of first AOM, 87% of tympanograms were type B with the remainder type A8 or C. Sixty-three percent of tympanograms obtained from 25 infants during the six months following first AOM were type B, indicating that abnormal middle ear function was often prolonged. Fifteen of these 25 developed recurrent otitis during follow-up.

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Patterns of Perceptual and Academic Deficits Related to Early Chronic Otitis Media

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.66.2.246 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 246-253

Author(s):

Peter W. Zinkus ◽

Marvin I. Gottlieb

Keyword(s):

Early Detection ◽

Otitis Media ◽

Auditory Processing ◽

Chronic Otitis Media ◽

Verbal Intelligence ◽

Academic Deficits ◽

History Of ◽

Ear Infections ◽

Processing Deficits ◽

Intelligence Scores

The effects of chronic otitis media during the first three years of life on developing auditory processing skills were examined. Two groups of children with auditory processing deficits were compared in areas of language development, intellectual factors, auditory processing skills, and academic capabilities. One group of children with auditory processing deficits had a history of severe chronic otitis media during the first three years of life, whereas a second group had auditory processing deficits but no history of early middle ear infections. The results indicate that subjects who had a history of chronic otitis media were slower in developing word combinations, had depressed verbal intelligence scores, manifested pervasive auditory processing deficits, and were significantly poorer in reading. A profile has been constructed that permits early detection of the child at risk.

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