Ear infections DO cost more

Middle ear infections, or otitis media, rank among the most common ailments for young children. New research shows they also cost more, as parents and guardians shell out for antibiotics to take away the pain.

The study, using a national population database, showed that AOM(Acute Otitis Media) cost $314 per child annually for outpatient health care and an average of $17 in additional costs for medications. This resulted in an overall $2.88 billion annual cost for ear infections.

The reasons for the prevalence of otitis media include underdeveloped middle-ear drainage systems, and nascent immune systems, among others.

While estimates of the economic impact of AOM (Acute Otitis Media) have been formulated in the past, a new study by UCLA and Harvard University researchers is the first to use a national population database that gives a direct, head-to-head comparison of expenditures for pediatric patients diagnosed with ear infections and similar patients without ear infections.

The Study

The study, done by Dr. Nina Shapiro (Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Mattel Children’s Hospital University of California, Los Angeles) said the annual cost for U.S. child ear infections was $2.88 billion. Ear infections were associated with an incremental increase of $314 per child annually for outpatient health care and an average of $17 in additional costs for medications.

Subjects for the study were records of pediatric patients age 18 and younger culled from the 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a national survey conducted by the Agency for Health Research and Quality.

10% of the study subjects had received care for ear infections. Statistics like the rates of visits to their doctor’s office, and the service costs associated with said doctor visits were then compared between those with diagnosed ear infections and those without. The results were adjusted for factors like age, race, and co-morbidities.

The upshot of the study was that children with ear infections had, on average, more outpatient visits and prescriptions filled, compared with those without ear infections.

In Summation

“The take-home message is that the common ear infection is an extremely costly entity with significant financial burdens on the health care system.” Dr. Shapiro said.

The researchers said that further work on the health care cost associated with AOM may include analyzing the indirect costs, such as work and school days missed, gasoline costs and parking charges for outpatient visits.

Study co-authors included Dr. Sameer Ahmed of UCLA and Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya of Harvard Medical School.

The research is published in the current edition of the journal The Laryngoscope, and is cited here:

Ahmed, S., Shapiro, N. L. and Bhattacharyya, N. (2014), Incremental health care utilization and costs for acute otitis media in children. The Laryngoscope, 124: 301–305. doi: 10.1002/lary.24190