Myringotomy in the treatment of acute otitis media in children.

The treatment of acute otitis media was studied in 158 children. All children (mean age 4 years) received penicillin orally 80 000--100 000 IU per day for 10 days. Myringotomy was performed on 68 children at the time of the diagnosis. The other 90 children were treated with penicillin and ear drops. The bacteriological findings from the nasopharynx at the time of diagnosis were equivalent in both groups. After 2 weeks, 42% of the children without myringotomy and 71% of the children with myringotomy were cured. The children who were not cured were treated with amoxicillin for 10 days. Four weeks after diagnosis 71% and 90% of the children respectively were cured. The differences between the two groups are significant. The observations indicate that myringotomy clearly accelerates the recovery from acute otitis media.