Media

Are you listening? Kids’ ear infections cost health care system nearly $3 billion a year

Acute otitis media, or ear infection, is the most common ailment among kids of preschool age and younger in the U.S., primarily because these children have immature middle-ear drainage systems, higher exposure to respiratory illnesses and undeveloped immune systems.

And because it’s also the most common reason for antibiotic use among all children, the costs associated with acute otitis media (AOM) are under more scrutiny than ever by health care and government administrators, especially given today’s political and economic climate, strained health-care resources and cost-containment efforts.

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