"A shorter period of antibiotic treatment for ear infections in young children does more harm than good a new study finds. About threequarters of children have ear infections in their first year of life. These infections are the most common reason why children are given antibiotics the University of Pittsburgh researchers noted. Given significant concerns regarding overuse of antibiotics and increased antibiotic resistance we conducted this trial to see if reducing the duration of antibiotic treatment would be equally effective along with decreased antibiotic resistance and fewer adverse reactions Dr. Alejandro Hoberman said in a university news release. Hoberman is chief of the general academic pediatrics division at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.  The study included  youngsters with ear infections. The children ranged in age from  months to  months and were randomly selected to receive either a standard day course of antibiotics or a shortened fiveday course of antibiotics followed by five days of placebos. The risk of treatment failure was  percent in the fiveday group and  percent in the day group. Whats more the children in the fiveday group didnt have a lower risk of antibiotic resistance or of side effects such as diarrhea or diaper rash. The results of this study clearly show that for treating ear infections in children between  and  months of age a fiveday course of antibiotic offers no benefit in terms of adverse events or antibiotic resistance Hoberman said. Though we should be rightly concerned about the emergence of resistance overall for this condition the benefits of the day regimen greatly outweigh the risks he added. The study was published Dec.  in the New England Journal of Medicine. More information The U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has more about ear infections in children https SOURCE University of Pittsburgh news release Dec."