Acute otitis media: Pharmacy First pathway
Review ear symptoms in children, otoscopic findings, complications and pain-relief and self-care considerations.
Free educational reference for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Open the interactive pathway and linked material in CRx Workspace without an account or payment card.
What the Acute otitis media pathway covers
The acute-otitis-media pathway combines the history of ear symptoms with examination of the ear and tympanic membrane. It also considers the child’s overall illness, possible complications and the supporting pain-relief and self-care material.
- Earache and other ways ear symptoms may present in younger children
- Otoscopic examination and tympanic-membrane findings
- Systemic illness, complication risk and named complications such as mastoiditis
- Pain relief, self-care and the linked medicine-specific PGDs
Further reading and official resources
External links for further reading and checking current guidance.
- NHS England: Acute otitis media PGDs and service documents
- NICE CKS: Acute otitis media
- NHS: Acute otitis media
- NICE NG91: acute otitis media visual summary (PDF)
- Community Pharmacy England: Pharmacy First service resources
For England’s Pharmacy First service. This independent educational reference does not replace the current official specification, clinical pathway, PGDs or protocol.
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