The Runny Ear Study (REST), funded by the National Institute for Health Research, will focus on children who have middle ear infections with discharge (AOMd). These occur in around 15 per cent of middle ear infections, due to a build-up of pressure in the middle ear which causes the ear drum to burst, releasing pus ('discharge'). Children with AOMd have more pain, repeat episodes of illness and hearing problems. AOMd also results in more visits to the GP, with over 90 per cent of parents taking their child to the GP for each episode. That’s over 150,000 consultations in England and Wales at a cost of over £3 million to the NHS each year.
The team will compare three alternative treatment options: immediate antibiotics by mouth, immediate antibiotic eardrops, which have previously shown to be effective in children with grommets, and 'delayed' oral antibiotics, where parents are advised to wait to see if the child's infection improves without antibiotics. Studies in other infections suggest that delayed antibiotics by mouth can be just as effective and safe as immediate antibiotics.
Professor Alastair Hay, a GP and infections research lead at the University of Bristol's Centre for Academic Primary Care, said: "Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health today. A growing number of potentially life-threatening infections, such as pneumonia and septicaemia, are becoming harder to treat because bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics that we commonly prescribe.
"Our research aims to explore alternatives for common childhood infections, such as AOMd. We have already had success demonstrating alternative treatment options for urinary tract infections in children and we hope to be able to do the same for this distressing, painful and common condition."
Antimicrobial resistance - or AMR - is a global threat, with an estimated 700,000 people dying from resistant infections every year. This week [12-18 November] is World Antibiotic Awareness Week.