Otitis media with effusion (OME) in children is a disease which usually subsides spontaneously at 7-9 years of age, but in some cases it becomes refractory. In this study, 298 ears of 173 children with OME were studied to identify any factors which affected the prognosis, and to discuss the efficacy and indication for medical treatment which primarily consisted of administration of a low dose erythromycin with other medicines. The number of cured ears without medication was 39 (13.1 percent), those cured with medication were 145 (48.7 percent), while the number of ears cured by conservative treatment was 184 (61.7 percent). The number of so-called non-cured ears with medication was 114 (38.3 percent). The factors related to recovery included good mastoid pneumatization, and either A or C1 type tympanograms.
