By March the winter season of repeated colds and the flu have caused some children to get several ear infections. At Legacy, most of our patients are on the NIH study and we find out which bacteria cause the ear infection and then give antibiotics that perfectly match the child’s system to kill the germ. For the other children not in the study, we use the knowledge gained from those in the study to make the best guess as to the most likely bacterial strain and the most likely best antibiotic. So we are doing the same as the other pediatricians in Rochester and across the country – but even better because at least we know what bacteria are in our practice population, and what antibiotics are working best for the study children.