The majority of articles relating to otitis media and complications appearing in 1943 were concerned with the use of chemotherapy. Several articles from men in the military services appeared. Editorial comments appear in brackets.
DIAGNOSIS
Nelson1 emphasizes the importance of an examination of the hearing before diagnosing acute otitis media. Until serum or pus forms, the hearing remains normal, and air conduction remains better than bone conduction. For ten years he has made it a rule never to incise a drum membrane as long as air conduction is better than bone conduction, regardless of redness, pain, fever or apparent bulging. "This rule has not failed me in the past eight years and in over 100 cases has enabled me confidently to avoid surgical intervention when I should otherwise have feared to delay it." [For several years I have carried a small tuning fork in my bag for this test. It