Acute Otitis Media
Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat · ~6% of blueprint- Pathophysiology
- Eustachian tube dysfunction → middle-ear effusion → bacterial infection (S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis).
- Signs & Symptoms
- Otalgia, fever, bulging/erythematous tympanic membrane with impaired mobility, hearing loss; common in children.
- Gold Standard Diagnosis
- Clinical (no gold standard): moderate–severe TM bulging or new otorrhea; confirm effusion by pneumatic otoscopy (↓ mobility).
- First-line Treatment
- High-dose amoxicillin; amoxicillin-clavulanate if amoxicillin in the past 30 days, purulent conjunctivitis, or recurrent AOM unresponsive to amoxicillin. Observation is an option in nonsevere cases.
Drug cardsAmoxicillin
High-Yield Pearl
A bulging, immobile TM = AOM; high-dose amoxicillin is first-line in children.
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Gross Anatomy
Physiology
Sources
Reviewed September 2026- The Diagnosis and Management of Acute Otitis Media — American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013
- StatPearls: Acute Otitis Media — StatPearls Publishing / NCBI Bookshelf, 2026
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