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Chris Brennan-Jones PhD Head, Ear and Hearing Health chris.brennan-jones@thekids.org.au Head, Ear and Hearing Health Professor Chris Brennan-Jones is

Chris Deborah Peter Tanisha Greta Karina Brennan-Jones Lehmann Richmond Cayley Bernabei Tao PhD AO, MBBS, MSc MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP BBiomed (Hons) BSc

The authors previously reported an increased risk of hospitalisation for acute lower respiratory infection up to age 2 years in children delivered by...

Concerns about the risk of inducing immune deviation-associated "neonatal tolerance" as described in mice have restricted the widespread adoption...

Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is associated with otitis media

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are a major cause of hospitalisation in young children

This is the first update of a Cochrane review published in 2020. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media, is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane. The predominant symptoms of CSOM are ear discharge and hearing loss. Aural toileting describes processes for manually cleaning the ear, including dry mopping (with cotton wool or tissue paper), suction clearance (typically under a microscope), or irrigation (using manual or automated syringing). Aural toileting can be used alone or in addition to other treatments for CSOM, such as antibiotics or topical antiseptics. This is one of a suite of seven Cochrane reviews evaluating the effects of non-surgical interventions for CSOM. 

Otitis media has a high prevalence in childhood, and grommet insertion is the most common surgical treatment for OM. The public health system in Australia faces considerable strains, including high demand for Ear, Nose and Throat specialists. Extending the scope of practice for audiologists to manage post-operative care for children receiving grommets has the potential to alleviate this burden.

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are two of the most commonly performed ENT procedures in children, with over 500,000 cases performed annually in the United States. Whilst generally considered a safe and well-tolerated operation, it is not without its risks and complications including pain, nausea, anorexia and most importantly bleeding and post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage.

There is limited but consistent evidence that suggests prenatal factors, including maternal stress, may contribute to susceptibility for otitis media. We aimed to determine the effect of multiple life stress events during pregnancy on risk of acute and recurrent otitis media in offspring at three and five years of age.