1. Comparison of amoxicillin administered twice and three times daily in children with acute otitis media.
- Author
-
Storch-De-Gracia, Pilar, Antoñanzas-Bernar, Valeria, Vergara-Muñoz, Beatriz, Lamagrande-Casanova, Nuria, Di Campli-Zaghlul, Marianna, Suárez-Bustamante, María, Añón-Hidalgo, Juan, and Maiques, Miguel
- Subjects
- *
ACUTE otitis media , *AMOXICILLIN , *PATIENT compliance , *CHILDREN'S hospitals - Abstract
To compare the effectiveness of amoxicillin administered in regimens of two or three daily doses in children with acute otitis media (AOM). As a secondary aim, we measured and compared treatment adherence between the two groups. A prospective observational study was conducted in the emergency department of a children's hospital. We recruited a total of 353 patients having a median age of 1.58 years. Twice-daily dosing was prescribed to 58%, while 42% received three doses per day. The clinical course of AOM was favourable in 92% of the patients who received two doses of amoxicillin and in 95% of those who received three doses (p = 0.25). Four patients (1%) had persistent symptoms beyond day 7. None developed intracranial complications. In the group receiving three doses daily, 31% reported difficulties with the dosing schedule, and 9.6% faced challenges when administering the medication at the specified volume, compared with 5.8% and 25% of those who received the two-dose regimen, respectively. Conclusion: Twice-daily amoxicillin has similar efficacy to a three-dose daily regimen and can offer advantages for caregivers in terms of administration schedule. What is Known: • Amoxicillin given in two daily doses is as effective as a three doses regimen in the treatment of acute otitis media in children. • The lower the number of daily doses, the higher the adherence to a drug treatment. What is New: • Administration of amoxicillin in twice-daily doses may improve adherence, as it is less frequently associated with family-perceived problems with dosing schedules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF