Pain management in childhood acute otitis media

The PIM-POM study is a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a primary-care based multifaceted educational intervention aimed at optimising pain management compared with ‘usual care’ in children with acute otitis media (AOM) .

The intervention consists of a blended GP educational programme (internet-based and face-to-face training) aimed at discussing pain management proactively with parents using an interactive parent information leaflet, and prescribing both paracetamol and ibuprofen according to prevailing Dutch guidelines.

The study investigates whether optimised analgesia through a GP-targeted multifaceted intervention reduces the intensity and duration of earache, fever, antibiotics prescriptions, reconsultation rates and AOM-related healthcare costs (e.g. absence from work).

Techniques
Mixed methods study: quantitative and qualitative studies combined