Unnecessary antibiotics may actually raise the risk of recurrent acute otitis media.

Physicians often see young children with acute otitis media (middle ear inflammation) and frequently prescribe an antibiotic, even it is  uncomplicated. A new randomized, double-blind study conducted in the Netherlands compared the outcomes of children who received amoxicillin with those who received a placebo. The children who received the antibiotic had 2.5 times the risk for a recurrent infection compared to those who did not.