The Impact of Ear Pain Anticipatory Guidance Counseling on Otitis Related Visits in a Low Income Population

November 30, 2015 updated by: University of Colorado, Denver

Importance: Ear pain is a frequent reason for pediatric visits. Objective: To determine if a program of anticipatory guidance counseling for ear pain at the 12-15 month routine preventive care visit in a predominantly low income population can reduce medical visits to clinic, emergency department (ED), and urgent care (UC).

Design: Single blind randomized control trial of an ear pain counseling program.

Setting: The Child Health Clinic (CHC), a primary care clinic at Children's Hospital Colorado, which serves a predominantly low income population with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Participants: 310 mothers were enrolled at their child's 12-15 month well child visit.

Intervention: Structured 10-minute education intervention, given by a research assistant, used a slide presentation that reviewed ear pain Main Outcome and Measures: Number of ED, UC, and clinic visits for otitis media for the 12 month period after entry into the study and whether the visit included a prescription for antibiotics.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The research assistant provided a structured 10 minute education session using 10 PowerPoint slides specific to the subject's assigned group. This was done in the exam room during the child's clinic visit using a portable laptop computer to display the slides, and a copy of the slides was provided to each family at the end of the session.

The Ear Pain counseling materials reviewed concepts such as how to recognize ear pain and safely provide pain relief, and how to recognize danger signs that require urgent medical attention. Families were also encouraged to schedule an appointment in the CHC for a possible ear infection rather than going to the emergency department or urgent care facility after hours. The research assistant provided and reviewed proper dosing instructions for acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and provided a prescription for antipyrine/benzocaine analgesic ear drops to each family to use as pain relief if their child did develop ear pain in the subsequent 12 months.

All participating families completed a demographics survey that included information on race/ethnicity, insurance status, language(s) spoken in the home, and family composition In addition, participants completed the StimQ, the Parent Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), and the he MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory.

At the child's 24 month preventive care visit, or approximately 12 months after the initial encounter, a research assistant blinded to the participant's study arm assignment met with each family and asked them to once again complete each of the above listed surveys and questionnaires. Those participants who did not present to the CHC for a clinic visit between 24 and 27 months of age, most commonly because they had switched providers or were delayed in scheduling the child's 24 month visit, were contacted by phone and asked to complete the surveys and questionnaires via US mail. If no follow up data had been collected by the time the child reached 30 months of age, that subject was considered lost to follow up.

The electronic medical record (EMR) for each child (EPIC) was reviewed for a diagnosis of otitis media using all otitis related diagnostic codes for 12 months following their initial index visit. The site of each subsequent otitis related visit was documented (CHC, Emergency Department, Urgent care clinic, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic) as well as antibiotic that was prescribed. The EMR review documented the number of otitis related visits for each child in total and by site of care as well as the time from the initial index visit to the first otitis related visit with and without an associated antibiotic prescription.

Appropriate statistical tests analyzed differences between study groups and baseline demographic characteristics. Interactions between the study group and dichotomous demographic variables were tested in negative-binomial regression models. When socio-demographic data was missing the enrollee was not included in that sub-analysis. Final stratified regression models represent the relationship between ear pain visits, the study group, and the dichotomous demographic characteristic. Each stratified model was analyzed to represent the appropriate intervention vs. control comparison for each level of the demographic factor [e.g., Post High School education (intervention vs. control) and ≤ High School education (intervention vs. control)].

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
310

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Colorado
      • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
        • Childrens Hospital Colorado

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 1 year (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 12-15 months seen at the CHC for their preventive care visit were eligible for enrollment in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Ventilating tubes
  • Down syndrome
  • Cardiac disease
  • Immunodeficiency disorder
  • Family's primary language was something other than English or Spanish

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: ear pain counseling
The Ear Pain counseling materials reviewed concepts such as how to recognize ear pain and safely provide pain relief, and how to recognize danger signs that require urgent medical attention. Families were also encouraged to schedule an appointment in the CHC for a possible ear infection rather than going to the emergency department or urgent care facility after hours. The research assistant provided and reviewed proper dosing instructions for acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and provided a prescription for antipyrine/benzocaine analgesic ear drops to each family to use as pain relief if their child did develop ear pain in the subsequent 12 months.
Other: ear pain counseling
The Ear Pain counseling materials reviewed concepts such as how to recognize ear pain and safely provide pain relief, and how to recognize danger signs that require urgent medical attention. Families were also encouraged to schedule an appointment in the CHC for a possible ear infection rather than going to the emergency department or urgent care facility after hours.
Active Comparator: language power counseling
The Language Power materials explained the importance of frequent conversations between parents and children and of using encouraging rather than discouraging comments and the PRA reviewed age-appropriate activities in the Learning Games book, and the importance of daily reading using the provided children's book as an example.
Other: language power counseling
The Language Power materials explained the importance of frequent conversations between parents and children and of using encouraging rather than discouraging comments and the PRA reviewed age-appropriate activities in the Learning Games book, and the importance of daily reading using the provided children's book as an example.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Otitis related visits by site of care
Time Frame: 12 months
The electronic medical record (EMR) for each child (EPIC) was reviewed for a diagnosis of otitis media using all otitis related diagnostic codes for 12 months following their initial index visit.
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Time from the initial index visit to the first otitis related visit.
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Influence of maternal ethnicity, education, marital status, and age on the effect of ear pain counseling
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months
The site of each subsequent otitis related visit was documented (CHC, Emergency Department, Urgent care clinic, ENT clinic).
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Colorado, Denver

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Stephen Berman, MD, University of Colorado, Denver

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 11, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 24, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 30, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 2, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 30, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 09-0270

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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