Incidence and recurrence of acute otitis media in Taiwan's pediatric population

OBJECTIVE: To report the incidence and recurrence of acute otitis media (AOM) in Taiwan's pediatric population. METHODS: Information from children (aged <= 12 years) with a diagnosis of AOM was retrieved from the 2006 National Healthcare Insurance claims database. We calculated the cumulative incidence rate and the incidence density rate of recurrent AOM within one year after the initial diagnosis in 2006. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to assess the predictors for recurrence of AOM. RESULTS: The annual incidence rate of AOM was estimated to be 64.5 cases per 1,000 children. The overall one-year cumulative incidence rate of recurrence was 33.1%, and the incidence density rate was 33.5 cases per 100 person-years, with the highest figure (41.2 cases per 100 person-years) noted for children aged 0-2 years. Recurrence was significantly associated with age, gender, place of treatment, and physician specialty. CONCLUSION: AOM remains a major threat to children's health in Taiwan. Male children and very young children require more aggressive preventive strategies to reduce the risk of recurrence.