Alho O P
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Oulu, Finland.
Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 1997;529:8-10. doi: 10.3109/00016489709124067.
To illustrate how the number of children with recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) and the natural history of this condition vary according to the criterion used, different criteria were tested in a random sample of 2,411 children monitored for otitis media up to an average age of 22 months. The numbers of children fulfilling the criteria of at least 2, 3 and 4 episodes in 6 months were calculated and the natural history of otitis media during the following 6 months was examined among the children who had had a sufficient follow-up time and who had received no special prophylaxis. At least 2, 3 or 4 episodes in 6 months were experienced by 825 (34%), 375 (15%) and 118 (5%) children, respectively. During the 6 subsequent months after contracting the second, third or fourth episode, 5, 4 and 5% of the infants developed chronic otitis media with effusion and an additional 10, 12 and 7% respectively, continued to have recurrent episodes without any special prophylaxis. In all, the proportion of children with recurrent episodes varied according to the criterion used. RAOM seemed to be a temporal phenomenon, however, and spontaneous recovery without any special prophylaxis was common with increasing age irrespective of the criterion used.
为了说明复发性急性中耳炎（RAOM）患儿的数量以及这种疾病的自然史如何根据所使用的标准而有所不同，我们在一个随机抽取的2411名儿童样本中测试了不同的标准，这些儿童被监测中耳炎情况直至平均年龄达到22个月。计算了符合6个月内至少2次、3次和4次发作标准的儿童数量，并在有足够随访时间且未接受特殊预防措施的儿童中，研究了接下来6个月中耳炎的自然史。分别有825名（34%）、375名（15%）和118名（5%）儿童在6个月内经历了至少2次、3次和4次发作。在第二次、第三次或第四次发作后的接下来6个月里，分别有5%、4%和5%的婴儿发展为慢性积液性中耳炎，另有10%、12%和7%的婴儿分别在没有任何特殊预防措施的情况下继续反复发作。总之，反复发作儿童的比例因所使用的标准而异。然而，RAOM似乎是一种暂时的现象，无论使用何种标准，随着年龄的增长，在没有任何特殊预防措施的情况下自然康复是很常见的。
