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Description
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"Description: Percentage of patients aged 2 months through 12 years with a diagnosis of OME who were not prescribed or recommended to receive either antihistamines or decongestants
Rationale: OME usually resolves spontaneously with indications for therapy only if the condition is persistent and clinically significant benefits can be achieved. No data exists to support antihistamines and decongestants in treating OME. As a result, physicians should not prescribe or recommend the over-the-counter use of these medications.
The purpose of the corresponding guideline statement is to reduce ineffective and potentially harmful medical interventions in OME when there is no long-term benefit to be gained in the vast majority of cases. Medications have long been used to treat OME, with the dual goals of improving QOL and avoiding more invasive surgical interventions. Both the 1994 guidelines and the 2004 guidelines determined that the weight of evidence did not support the routine use of steroids (either oral or intranasal), antimicrobials, antihistamines, or decongestants as therapy for OME.
Evidence: STATEMENT 8c. ANTIHISTAMINES OR DECONGESTANTS: Clinicians should recommend against using antihistamines, decongestants, or both for treating OME. Strong recommendation against based on systematic review of RCTs and preponderance of harm over benefit.
Clinical Practice Guideline: Otitis Media with Effusion (Update). Rosenfeld RM et al. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. (2016)"
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