Prevention of otitis media caused by viral upper respiratory tract infection: vaccines, antivirals, and other approaches

Abstract

Otitis media (OM) imposes significant morbidity on the pediatric age group and a large financial burden on the general population. Because standard medical treatments are not highly efficacious in resolving the accompanying middle ear (ME) inflammation, a goal of current research is OM prevention. Past studies show that new episodes of OM are usually a complication of viral upper respiratory infection (vURI), and therefore, a rational approach to achieving that goal is to develop intervention strategies that target vURI-associated OM. However, past experiences with antibiotics show that, in the absence of well-defined treatment protocols that maximize expected efficacy, the adoption of prophylactic or active treatments for OM can have negative consequences for the patient and for the general population. In this review, we discuss the hypothesized mechanisms by which a vURI is translated into an acute OM episode and describe different strategies for aborting that process. Limitations to deployment of each strategy are outlined.