NCBI
PubMed
A service of the
U.S. National Library of Medicine
and the
National Institutes of Health
My NCBI
[Sign In]
[Register]
All Databases
PubMed
Nucleotide
Protein
Genome
Structure
OMIM
PMC
Journals
Books
Search
Database name
PubMed
Protein
Nucleotide
GSS
EST
Structure
Genome
Books
CancerChromosomes
Conserved Domains
dbGaP
3D Domains
Gene
Genome Project
GENSAT
GEO Profiles
GEO DataSets
HomoloGene
Journals
MeSH
NCBI Web Site
NLM Catalog
OMIA
OMIM
PMC
PopSet
Probe
Protein Clusters
PubChem BioAssay
PubChem Compound
PubChem Substance
SNP
Taxonomy
ToolKit
UniGene
UniSTS
for
Search term
Go
Clear
Advanced Search (beta)
Limits
Preview/Index
History
Clipboard
Details
Display
Summary
Brief
Abstract
AbstractPlus
Citation
MEDLINE
XML
UI List
LinkOut
ASN.1
Related Articles
Cited in Books
CancerChrom Links
Domain Links
3D Domain Links
dbGaP Links
GEO DataSet Links
Gene Links
Gene (OMIM) Links
Gene (GeneRIF) Links
Genome Links
Project Links
GENSAT Links
GEO Profile Links
HomoloGene Links
Nucleotide Links
Nucleotide (RefSeq) Links
Nucleotide (Weighted) Links
EST Links
EST (RefSeq) Links
GSS Links
GSS (RefSeq) Links
OMIA Links
OMIM (calculated) Links
OMIM (cited) Links
BioAssay Links
Compound Links
Compound (MeSH Keyword)
Compound (Publisher) Links
Substance Links
Substance (MeSH Keyword)
Substance (Publisher) Links
PMC Links
Cited in PMC
PopSet Links
Probe Links
Protein Links
Protein (RefSeq) Links
Protein (Weighted) Links
Protein Cluster Links
Cited Articles
SNP Links
SNP (Cited)
Structure Links
Taxonomy via GenBank
UniGene Links
UniSTS Links
Show
5
10
20
50
100
200
500
Sort By
Pub Date
First Author
Last Author
Journal
Title
Send to
Text
File
Printer
Clipboard
Collections
E-mail
Order
All: 1
Review: 0
Click to change filter selection through MyNCBI.
1:
Pediatrics.
2003 May;111(5 Pt 1):e574-9.
Related Articles
,
Links
Comment in:
J Fam Pract. 2003 Sep;52(9):673, 676.
Naturopathic treatment for ear pain in children.
Sarrell EM
,
Cohen HA
,
Kahan E
.
Pediatric and Adolescent Ambulatory Community Clinic of the General Health Services, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
OBJECTIVE: Otitis media is 1 of the most frequent diseases of early infancy and childhood and 1 of the most common reasons for children to visit a physician. In the past 2 decades, there has been a substantial increase in the diagnosis of otitis media worldwide. In the United States, 93% of all children have had at least 1 episode of acute otitis media (AOM) by 7 years of age. Otalgia is the hallmark of AOM. Most affected children either complain of earache or manifest behavior that the parents interpret as indicating ear pain. Treatment of the ear pain early in the course of AOM decreases both parental anxiety and the child's discomfort and accelerates the healing process. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and tolerability of naturopathic versus traditional treatment for the management of otalgia commonly associated with AOM in children. METHODS: The study was designed as a double-blind trial in an outpatient community clinic. A total of 171 children who were aged 5 to 18 years and had otalgia and clinical findings associated with middle-ear infection were studied. The children were randomly assigned to receive treatment with Naturopathic Herbal Extract Ear Drops (NHED) or anesthetic ear drops, with or without amoxicillin. On enrollment, the children were assigned by computer-numbered randomization to receive NHED (contents: allium sativum, verbascum thapsus, calendula flores, hypericum perfoliatum, lavender, and vitamin E in olive oil) 5 drops 3 times daily, alone (group A) or together with a topical anesthetic (amethocaine and phenazone in glycerin) 5 drops 3 times daily (group B), or oral amoxicillin 80 mg/kg/d (maximum 500 mg/dose) divided into 3 doses with either NHED 5 drops 3 times daily (group C) or topical anesthetic 5 drops 3 times daily (group D). A double-blind design was used, and all ear drops were placed in identical bottles. Treatment was initiated by the nurse in all cases. A single physician (M.S.) evaluated and treated all of the patients included in the study and recorded all of the data. The presence or absence of ear pain was assessed over 3 days with a visual analog scale. Ear pain was assessed by a specially devised observational instrument based on previous reports. One side of the instrument consisted of a linear numbered scale, from 1 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain), and a corresponding color scale, ranging from blue to dark red. The reverse side contained a scale of 5 facial expressions, ranging from broad smile (no pain) to a sad and crying face (worst possible pain), and a corresponding color scale, ranging from blue to dark red. RESULTS: There were no significant between-group differences in patient age or gender, degree of fever, main symptoms, associated symptoms, and severity or laterality of acute otitis media. Each group had a statistically significant improvement in ear pain over the course of the 3 days. Patients who were given ear drops alone had a better response than patients who were given ear drops together with amoxicillin. Results were better in the NHED group than in the controls. Nevertheless, the findings indicated that the pain was mostly (80%) self-limited and could be explained simply by the time elapsed. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery guidelines recommend topical medications as the first line of treatment for ear pain in the absence of systemic infection or serious underlying disease. Because no evidence was found that systemic antibiotics alone improved treatment outcome, if antibiotics do not change the natural course of otitis media, then the main goal of treatment, as in the present study, should be to alleviate the ear pain. The alternative, naturopathic herbal extract medications, may offer many new possibilities in the management of ear pain associated with AOM. Primary care physicians should be aware that at least 10% of their patients may have tried 1 or more forms of alternative/complementary medicine before presenting for consultation. As it was widely reported in the medical literature, these herb, these herbal extracts have the potential to meet all of the requirements of appropriate medication that could be routinely used in the pediatric patient, namely in vitro bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal activity against common pathogens, immunostimulation ability, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory effects. They are also well-absorbed with good penetration into the tissue surrounding the tympanic membrane. They have been found to enhance local immunologic activity. Finally, herbal extracts are well-tolerated (owing to their long elimination time), easy to administer, and less expensive than the new antibiotics. There are no documented side effects. On the basis of our findings that the group with the most significant treatment effects (NHED with topical anesthetic) explained only 7.3% of the total pain reduction, we propose that sometimes the general practitioner or pediatrician needs to give the human body a chance to repair itself. Nevertheless, if the physician believes that there is an indication for some treatment, especially if the parents are anxious, then a local treatment such as one used in our study might be adequate. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that in cases of ear pain caused by AOM in children in which active treatment, besides a simple 2- to 3-day waiting period, is needed, an herbal extract solution may be beneficial. Concomitant antibiotic treatment is apparently not contributory.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Comparative Study
Multicenter Study
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 12728112 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Display
Summary
Brief
Abstract
AbstractPlus
Citation
MEDLINE
XML
UI List
LinkOut
ASN.1
Related Articles
Cited in Books
CancerChrom Links
Domain Links
3D Domain Links
dbGaP Links
GEO DataSet Links
Gene Links
Gene (OMIM) Links
Gene (GeneRIF) Links
Genome Links
Project Links
GENSAT Links
GEO Profile Links
HomoloGene Links
Nucleotide Links
Nucleotide (RefSeq) Links
Nucleotide (Weighted) Links
EST Links
EST (RefSeq) Links
GSS Links
GSS (RefSeq) Links
OMIA Links
OMIM (calculated) Links
OMIM (cited) Links
BioAssay Links
Compound Links
Compound (MeSH Keyword)
Compound (Publisher) Links
Substance Links
Substance (MeSH Keyword)
Substance (Publisher) Links
PMC Links
Cited in PMC
PopSet Links
Probe Links
Protein Links
Protein (RefSeq) Links
Protein (Weighted) Links
Protein Cluster Links
Cited Articles
SNP Links
SNP (Cited)
Structure Links
Taxonomy via GenBank
UniGene Links
UniSTS Links
Show
5
10
20
50
100
200
500
Sort By
Pub Date
First Author
Last Author
Journal
Title
Send to
Text
File
Printer
Clipboard
Collections
E-mail
Order
About Entrez
Text Version
Entrez PubMed
Overview
Help
|
FAQ
Tutorials
New/Noteworthy
E-Utilities
PubMed Services
Journals Database
MeSH Database
Single Citation Matcher
Batch Citation Matcher
Clinical Queries
Special Queries
LinkOut
My NCBI
Related Resources
Order Documents
NLM Mobile
NLM Catalog
NLM Gateway
TOXNET
Consumer Health
Clinical Alerts
ClinicalTrials.gov
PubMed Central
Write to the Help Desk
NCBI
|
NLM
|
NIH
Department of Health & Human Services
Privacy Statement
|
Freedom of Information Act
|
Disclaimer