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Antibiotics or watchful waiting for acute otitis media in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children?

Chris Valerie Brennan-Jones Swift PhD Head, Ear and Hearing Health Aboriginal Co-Director, Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Health;

Remote paediatric ear examination comparing video-otoscopy and still otoscopy clinician rated outcomes

Telemedicine, particularly real time video-otoscopy in rural and remote Australia holds great potential in assessing and managing otology conditions. There is good evidence of store and forward images for assessment, however limited evidence exists for the use of real-time video-otoscopy. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of using real time video-otoscopy, compared to standard store and forward still image otoscopy, in a paediatric population.

Safety, tolerability, and effect of a single aural dose of Dornase alfa at the time of ventilation tube surgery for otitis media: A Phase 1b double randomized control trial

One third of children require repeat ventilation tube insertion (VTI) for otitis media. Disease recurrence is associated with persistent middle ear bacterial biofilms. With demonstration that Dornase alfa (a DNase) disrupts middle ear effusion biofilms ex vivo, we identified potential for this as an anti-biofilm therapy to prevent repeat VTI. First, safety and tolerability needed to be measured.

Impact of ventilation tube insertion on long-term language outcomes at 6 and 10 years of age: A prospective pregnancy cohort study

Investigating the impact of early childhood ventilation tube insertion (VTI) on long-term language outcomes. 

Hearing loss in Australian First Nations children at 6-monthly assessments from age 12 to 36 months: Secondary outcomes from randomised controlled trials of novel pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedules

In Australian remote communities, First Nations children with otitis media (OM)-related hearing loss are disproportionately at risk of developmental delay and poor school performance, compared to those with normal hearing. Our objective was to compare OM-related hearing loss in children randomised to one of 2 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) formulations.

An infant mouse model of influenza-driven nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae colonization and acute otitis media suitable for preclinical testing of novel therapies

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children.

Evidence of maternal transfer of antigen-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk to infants at high-risk of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae disease

Children in low-mid income countries, and First Nations children in high-income countries, experience disproportionately high rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae infections and diseases including pneumonia and otitis media.

High prevalence of hearing loss in urban Aboriginal infants: the Djaalinj Waakinj cohort study

Chris Deborah Tamara Brennan-Jones Lehmann Veselinovic PhD AO, MBBS, MSc BSc(Hons) MClinAud PhD Head, Ear and Hearing Health Honorary Emeritus Fellow

Predominant Bacterial and Viral Otopathogens Identified Within the Respiratory Tract and Middle Ear of Urban Australian Children Experiencing Otitis Media Are Diversely Distributed

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common infections in young children, arising from bacterial and/or viral infection of the middle ear. Globally, Streptococcus pneumoniae and non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) are the predominant bacterial otopathogens. Importantly, common upper respiratory viruses are increasingly recognized contributors to the polymicrobial pathogenesis of OM.

Otitis media guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: summary of recommendations

The 2001 Recommendations for clinical care guidelines on the management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Islander populations were revised in 2010. This 2020 update by the Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children used for the first time the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.