Should we treat otitis with delayed antibiotics in infants?

Authors’ conclusions: the delayed antibiotic treatment doesn’t make worse the recovery from acute otitis media, assessed through improvement in signs and symptoms. Nevertheless the delay until the starting of antibiotics can be associated to a transient clinical deterioration with a longer period of symptoms and economic losses.

Reviewers’ commentary: this study doesn’t provide valuable information to base a change in our clinical practice regarding the decision to treat early or not the otitis in children between 6 months and 3 years old. Further studies are needed to establish which of these patients may benefit from delayed treatment.