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Xylitol, a sugar alcohol with known antibacterial properties, has been shown to prevent episodes of acute otitis media (AOM) in children when given as a gum or syrup five times per day. In a practice-based trial, 326 children (mean age, 22 months) with at least three AOM episodes in the prior year were randomized to receive 12 weeks of xylitol (5 g in an oral syrup, 3 times/day) or sorbitol as placebo. (Sorbitol does not have antibacterial properties.) This is the first study to use a xylitol solution with added mucosal adherence agents to optimize its effect.
Time to first AOM episode (in the medical record or by parent report) after the start of xylitol versus placebo was not significantly different in a proportional hazards model and inte…