Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Pain
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	25% reduction in ear ache 10 minutes 37/58 (64%) with topical anaesthetic drops 25/59 (42%) with placebo	RR 1.51 95% CI 1.06 to 2.15 P = 0.02 NNT 4 95% CI 3 to 27	Small effect size	topical anaesthetic drops
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	25% reduction in ear ache 20 minutes 46/58 (79%) with topical anaesthetic drops 35/59 (59%) with placebo	RR 1.34 95% CI 1.04 to 1.71 P = 0.02 NNT 5 95% CI 3 to 27	Small effect size	topical anaesthetic drops
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	25% reduction in ear ache 30 minutes 54/58 (93%) with topical anaesthetic drops 41/59 (69%) with placebo	RR 1.34 95% CI 1.12 to 1.61 P <0.002 NNT 5 95% CI 3 to 10	Small effect size	topical anaesthetic drops
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	50% reduction in ear ache 10 minutes 25/58 (43%) with topical anaesthetic drops 12/59 (20%) with placebo	RR 2.13 95% CI 1.19 to 3.80 P = 0.01 NNT 4 95% CI 3 to 16	Moderate effect size	topical anaesthetic drops
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	50% reduction in ear ache 20 minutes 34/58 (59%) with topical anaesthetic drops 28/59 (47%) with placebo	RR 1.24 95% CI 0.88 to 1.74 P = 0.22		Not significant
Systematic review	117 people aged 3 to 19 years 2 RCTs in this analysis	50% reduction in ear ache 30 minutes 49/58 (84%) with topical anaesthetic drops 35/59 (59%) with placebo	RR 1.43 95% CI 1.12 to 1.81 P = 0.003 NNT 4 95% CI 3 to 11	Small effect size	topical anaesthetic drops