CONCLUSION
Our experience of using a standardized protocol for investigating and
treating patients with NOE helped to facilitate a consistent approach
within the department. We found selected patients obtain good outcomes
with short course intravenous antimicrobial therapy +/- early
debridement but this study was not powered to determine statistical
significance. A randomised trial with more patients would confirm
evidence of non-inferiority of short course treatment in NOE.
Table 1: Otoscopy and CT scan grading on admission