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A full course of antibiotics is the better option in curing acute ear infection in infants and this has been supported by a new study. Among the main authors include Dr. Donald H. Arnold, an associate professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University.

The paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, claimed that shorter days of treatment will lead to higher antibiotic resistance, which would be much worse for babies.

Results revealed that the five-day antibiotic treatment showed no changes when it comes with pain and the infant's eardrum is still showing the same symptoms.

Dr. Alejandro Hoberman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine revealed that the five-day treatment was worse. He mentioned that there was no difference between the two samples of bacterial resistance. Neither, the side effects nor the development of the infection changes, and infants still suffer from diaper rash and diarrhea.

Dr. Richard M. Rosenfeld suggested the guidelines on ear infections. Dr. Rosenfeld said the treatment should be within the symptom scale of the infant.  The new study confirmed that for five days the treatment was considered a failure because the infection is still affecting the eardrum. 

The new research focused on 520 babies within 6 to 23 months old, the age range where infatns are prone to acute middle-ear infections. Almost one-third of the infants who undergo short antibiotic courses failed the treatment. It was been compared to almost just 16 percent of infants in the ten-day treatment.

While the five-day course of antibiotics is more reasonable in terms of cost for parents and may lessen diarrhea in infants, it doesn't provide the benefits that a ten-day treatment can provide.