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A long-standing concern is that many physicians overprescribe antibiotics for common upper-respiratory-tract infections — particularly acute otitis media (AOM). Results from prior studies conducted in office settings suggest that optional use of antibiotics is safe for some children. To examine a “wait-and-see prescription” approach, investigators randomized 283 children (age range, 6 months to 12 years) who presented to an urban emergency department with AOM to receive a standard prescription to be filled the same day or to be filled within 3 days if the patient was not better within 48 hours (wait-and-see approach). All patients received topical analgesics and ibuprofen.
In telephone interviews, significantly fewer parents in the wait-and-…