Abstract
In general, the insertion of tympanic tubes or outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) are known to be effective treatments for otitis-prone children. Recently, juzen-taiho-to (JTT), an herbal medicine, was also reported as an effective treatment by improving patients' immune function. We administered JTT (0.15 g/kg BW/day for 3 months) to 25 children diagnosed as otitis-prone and determined the number of acute otitis media (AOM) episodes, changes of nasopharyngeal bacteria, and severity of each AOM episode. We found that JTT significantly decreased the frequency of AOM, from 1.8 times per month to 0.39 times per month (Wilcoxon signed rank test; p<0.0001). Ten children had no AOM episodes while taking JTT. A nasopharyngeal bacterial culture after JTT treatment did not show any change compared with that before the treatment. We found 75% of otitis-prone children had penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in their nasopharynx. The severity of AOM decreased in 40% of the otitis-prone children but did not change in some or became worse in other children after JTT treatment. We needed to repeat the JTT treatment in three children. The second administration was very effective in two children, but it was not effective in one; we gave him additional treatment (OPAT). We think the JTT is effective for the prevention of repeated otitis media episodes.
