Table 4.
Summary of included review articles
| Authors | Peer reviewed? | OM defined | Results | Comments | Quality? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronfort et al37 | Yes | “…middle ear inflammation which can exist in an acute or chronic state and can occur with or without symptoms.” | “Inconclusive evidence in an unclear direction regarding the effectiveness of OMT for OM.” | Reviewed the following review articles: Hawk et al, Ernst et al, and Goltib et al; RCTs: Mills et al and Wahl et al | Excellent |
| Cole and Reed38 | Yes | NA | “Limited data show that OMT may also be effective for non-spinal disorders.” | Reviewed Mills et al | Good |
| Ferrance and Miller39 | Yes | AOM—“characterized by an abrupt onset of local signs such as ear pain or pressure, and systemic signs such as malaise or fever.” | “…there really is no credible solid evidence upon which to make recommendations regarding the use of chiropractic care in the treatment of acute OM.” | Stated that there was little evidence beyond case series, case reports, and 1 RCT (Mills et al) to support manipulative care for OM | Good |
| Alcantara et al40 | Yes | NA | “…emphasized clinical management strategies in the care of children with OM.” | Abstract only. Reviewed 19 articles | Fair |
| Leighton41 | Yes | Recurrent chronic OM | “The evidence is inconclusive.… There is insufficient evidence to predict long-term outcomes.” | Reviewed the following case series: Fysh, Fallon, & Froehle; RCTs: Sawyer et al, Wahl et al, & Mills et al; mentioned numerous case reviews | Fair |
| Hawk et al42 | Yes | Did not explicitly define | “Evidence was promising for the potential benefit.…” | Reviewed the following RCTs: Mills et al & Sawyer et al; Case series: Fallon, Froehle, & Fysh; case reports: Peet, Phillips, & Thomas | Excellent |
| Carr and Nahata43 | Yes | Upper respiratory tract infection | “…may decrease the frequency of episodes of acute OM in children.…” | Reviewed Sawyer et al RCT | Fair |
| Ernst44 | Yes | NA | “…the notion that chiropractic manipulation is an effective treatment of non-spinal pain syndromes is not based on conclusive evidence.” | Reviewed Sawyer et al RCT | Good |
AOM, Acute otitis media; NA, not applicable; OM, otitis media; OMT, osteopathic manipulative therapy; RCT, randomized control trial.