HOW COMMON IS RECURRENT ACUTE OTITIS-MEDIA

To illustrate how the number of children with recurrent acute otitis m edia (RAOM) and the natural history of this condition vary according t o the criterion used, different criteria were tested in a random sampl e of 2,411 children monitored for otitis media up to an average age of 22 months. The numbers of children fulfilling the criteria of at leas t 2, 3 and 4 episodes in 6 months were calculated and the natural hist ory of otitis media during the following 6 months was examined among t he children who had had a sufficient follow-up time and who had receiv ed no special prophylaxis. At least 2, 3 or 4 episodes in 6 months wer e experienced by 825 (34%), 375 (15%) and 118 (5%) children, respectiv ely. During the 6 subsequent months after contracting the second, thir d or fourth episode, 5, 4 and 5% of the infants developed chronic otit is media with effusion and an additional 10, 12 and 7%, respectively, continued to have recurrent episodes without any special prophylaxis. In all, the proportion of children with recurrent episodes varied acco rding to the criterion used. RAOM seemed to be a temporal phenomenon, however, and spontaneous recovery without any special prophylaxis was common with increasing age irrespective of the criterion used.