10 Min
In Clinical
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Aim
To help pharmacy technicians update their knowledge of acute otitis media in children aged one to 17 years of age – one of the conditions included as part of the Pharmacy First service.
Objectives
After completing this module and its online counterpart, pharmacy technicians will be
able to:
- Discuss the role the pharmacy team can play in reducing the number of GP appointments for children with AOM
- Identify the age groups most likely to be affected and whether antibiotics should be used
- Explain the different management options available.
Key facts
- More than 75 per cent of episodes of acute otitis media (AOM) occur in children under 10 years of age
- Young children are more susceptible as they have shorter and more horizontal Eustachian tubes – as they grow, the condition is less likely to occur
- At least 70 per cent of children will experience one or more attacks of AOM by the age of two years. Around a third of these have several episodes
- The peak age of incidence is six to 15 months and decreases with age. It is less common at school age.
