The effectiveness of topical 1% lidocaine with systemic oral analgesics for ear pain with acute otitis media

BACKGROUND

Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common childhood infections. Ear pain, the main symptom of AOM, results in parents frequently seeking medical assistance for their children. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of topical 1% lidocaine ear drops administered with oral analgesics with that of oral analgesics alone.

METHODS

This multicenter randomized, open-labeled study was conducted at 15 centers with 184 pediatric AOM patients with bilateral ear pain (aged 1-5 years) between May 1, 2016, and June 31, 2018. All patients received oral paracetamol or ibuprofen and topical 1% lidocaine, which was administered to each ear according to the randomization list. The ear pain score was evaluated within 48 h using the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) scale, and the patients were followed up for 10 days.

RESULTS

The median age was 31.8 months (min-max, 12-84.2 months). Of those patients enrolled, 22.3% received paracetamol, and 24.5% received paracetamol with lidocaine ear drops; 23.4% received ibuprofen, and 29.9% received ibuprofen with lidocaine ear drops. Lower pain scores were significantly measured at baseline and 10th minutes by a reduction 25% (RR 13.64, 95% CI 4.47-41.63, p = 0.001, RR 0.14, 95% CI 0.06-0.35, p = 0.001) and 50% (RR 4.76, 95% CI 1.63-13.87, p = 0.004, RR 0.14, 95% CI 0.05-0.4, p = 0.001) in the paracetamol and lidocaine versus paracetamol groups and the ibuprofen and lidocaine versus ibuprofen groups, respectively. No serious side effects were evident during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

This randomized study suggests that topical 1% lidocaine ear drops with paracetamol or ibuprofen seems to provide effective and rapid relief for children presenting with ear pain attributed to AOM.

Pediatricians' attitudes in management of acute otitis media and ear pain in Turkey

OBJECTIVES

Acute otitis media (AOM) is predominantly a disease of childhood and one of the common reasons for prescribing antibiotics. Ear pain is the main symptom of AOM, with the result that parents frequently seek immediate medical assistance for their children. Antibiotic therapy for AOM does not provide symptomatic relief in the first 24 hours, and analgesics are commonly recommended for relieving the pain associated with AOM. The aims of the present study were to assess pediatricians' attitudes toward AOM and ear pain management in Turkey.

METHODS

This multicenter descriptive questionnaire study was conducted in 20 centers from different geographic locations in Turkey, with 977 pediatricians, between June 2015 and December 2016. The questionnaire comprised 20 questions focusing on the pediatricians' sociodemographic variables, experiences, and treatment related to AOM and ear pain.

RESULTS

Of the pediatricians, 58.2% were residents, 36.5% were specialists, and 4.3% were lecturers. Most participants were working in a university hospital (54.8%) or education and research hospital (32.2%). In general daily practice, the AOM diagnosis rates were between 6% and 20% in outpatient clinics, and 52.3% of the participants stated the patients complained about ear pain in pediatric clinics. The watchful waiting (WW) rate, as opposed to immediate antibiotic treatment, was 39.8% for all the pediatricians. The pediatric residents used the WW strategy less than the specialists and lecturers did (p = 0.004). The rates of the WW strategy were higher in outpatient clinics where AOM was commonly diagnosed (p < 0.001). The most common antibiotic prescribed for AOM was amoxicillin clavulanate (76.7%). The mean recommended treatment period for AOM was 9.3 ± 2.2 days. The choices for systemic ear pain treatment were acetaminophen (26.8%), ibuprofen (29.4%), and alternating between ibuprofen and acetaminophen (43.9%). Moreover, 34.6% of the participants recommended topical agents for otalgia. Topical agents were more commonly recommended by the pediatric residents than specialists or lecturers (p < 0.001). Finally, 58.3% of pediatricians had experiences of the parents' usage of a variety of herbal and folk remedies, such as breast milk or olive oil, for their children's ear pain.

CONCLUSION

Amoxicillin clavulanate was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic for AOM. WW was approved by the pediatricians, and having more AOM patients was a significant factor in the physicians' choice of WW; nevertheless, the WW rate was poor. Implementation of educational intervention strategies will help pediatricians in improving their compliance with evidence-based guidelines for AOM treatment. Otalgia is taken seriously by parents and pediatricians, and otalgia treatment seems to be well accepted in Turkey for providing symptomatic relief and enhancing the patients' quality of life.

An extremely rare case: osteosclerotic metaphyseal dysplasia

OMD (osteosclerotic metaphyseal dysplasia) is a very rare sclerosing bone disorder, first described by G. Nishimura in two Japanese siblings in 1993 (6). We report the case of a 12-month-old male with hypotonia, developmental delay and sclerosis of the metaphyses and epiphyses of specific bones. This 36-week gestation boy was born to a 26 year old gravida 5 para 1 Turkish mother and a 27 year old nonconsanguineous father. Radiographic findings obtained during the hospital stay included bilateral symmetrical osteosclerosis of the metaphyseal portions of the long bones in the upper and lower extremities with osteopenic shafts. Narrow bands of metaphyseal osteosclerosis were detected in the short tubular bones of the hands and feet. Growing parts of bilateral scapula, iliac, pubic and ischial bones show sclerotic bands. In addition superior and inferior plates of vertebras, transverse processes of sacral vertebras, all visible epiphyses, carpal and tarsal bones also show sclerotic changes. The scalp was unaffected. Based on the clinical, radiographic, and laboratory findings, a diagnosis of OMD was made. We do not know any of the osteosclerotic bone disorder with changes including hypotonia, mental and motor developmental delay and metaphyseal sclerosis of the bones with a unique distribution except OMD. The syndrome is characterized by developmental delay of a progressive nature, hypotonia, elevated alkaline phosphatase, and late-onset spastic paraplegia 18 years ago. Our patient is the 4th case of OMD described in the literature share some clinical and radiological similarities with other three reported cases of osteosclerotic metaphyseal dysplasias.