Signs and symptoms of otitis media in children

Signs and symptoms associated with acute otitis media are polymorphic and variable according to the age of children. Indeed, younger is the child, less suggestive are the sig-ns and if we consider two of the most classical signs, otalgia and fever, each of them is present in only 50 % of cases. Moreover, the predictive value of this signs for the diagnosis is not good, pointing up the importance of systematic otoscopic examination, whatever the reason of the consultation. By contrast, these signs and symptoms are important to consider for the management of the patients. Nevertheless, they should influence the decision to treat or not, and the choice of the molecule considering the microbiological and the clinical correlations.