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Abstract
Objective: Otitis media (OM) is an inflammation of the middle ear. It is very common and associated with serious complications, including hearing loss. This study aimed to estimate the treatment costs of OM in Australia and the associated burden of disease (in disability-adjusted life-years). Methods: Little Australia-wide epidemiological information is available, so international studies in the main were used to estimate the incidence and prevalence by age and gender. These were triangulated against the available Australian data. Australian health data sets and data collected from the emergency department of a tertiary pediatric hospital were used to estimate the costs of primary care, pharmaceuticals, pathology and imaging, emergency department presentations, specialists, and admitted hospital care. Results: Excluding the costs of the complications and comorbidities associated with OM, treatment costs for the disease in 2008 were between AUS$100 and 400 million. Visits to general practitioners and medicines constituted a high proportion of these costs. Antibiotic prescribing rates remain high despite clear evidence for a limited benefit from antibiotics for most OM cases and concerns regarding bacterial resistance. Conclusion: Treatment costs of OM in Australia are high and can only be estimated within a broad range. Further research on the links between antibiotics for OM and antibiotic resistance, and on the cost–effectiveness of prevention or amelioration of OM would be useful.
Ethical conduct of research
The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
This research was undertaken by Access Economics Pty Ltd for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Penny Taylor, Isabel Faeth, M Lynne Pezzullo and Susan Havyatt are employed at Access Economics. Assistance was provided by the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, and guidance, inputs and prior research were provided by a panel of experts (the coauthors). GSK had no part in the findings of the report. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Notes
AOM: Acute otitis media; OM: Otitis media.
AOM: Acute otitis media; BEACH: Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health; GP: General practitioner; MBS: Medicare Benefits Schedule; OM: Otitis media.