Viral otitis media英文电子书.pdf

Viral Otitis Media Craig A. Buchman, MD, and George M. Brinson, MD Address OM might experience significant problems with speech Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of and language acquisition [7]. There is no question that a North Carolina School of Medicine, G0412 Neurosciences Hospital, better understanding of the pathophysiologic and molecu- Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7070, USA. E-mail: brinson@med.unc.edu lar mechanisms relating viral URIs and AOM will lead to the development of new therapeutic alternatives. Today, a Current Allergy and Asthma Reports 2003, 3:335–340 Current Science Inc. ISSN 1529-7322 significant number of alternative therapies exist for the Copyright © 2003 by Current Science Inc. treatment of OM. However, the role of these interventions in the setting of viral OM is unclear. Acute otitis media (AOM) and viral upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) represent the two most common diseases affecting the human population, and account for substantial Epidemiology Epidemiologic studies suggest that a viral URI might precede patient morbidity and health care costs. Epidemiologic and more than 50% of cases of AOM [8]. Furthermore, Finnish experimental studies suggest that URIs play a causal role in the studies have demonstrated a significant correlation betw