Routine use of antibiotics not warranted in most cases of rhinosinusitis

Antibiotic treatment is no better than placebo at improving symptoms in patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Key Point: Routine antibiotics for acute rhinosinusitis do not improve symptoms and are not warranted. Watchful waiting is a reasonable alternative approach to prescribing antibiotics for sinusitis in patients who can be reassessed.

Acute rhinosinusitis affects an estimated 6% to 10% of patients seen in daily outpatient practice by physicians in Asia, with these patients most often managed by general practitioners, otolaryngologists, and pediatricians, according to a survey published in the journal Rhinology in 2011. Antibiotics were among the top three first-line treatments (after antihistamines and nasal decongestants) prescribed for sinusitis, prescribed in 29.5% of cases.

Physicians must overcome patient expectations that they will receive an antibiotic for their acute rhinosinusitis, researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States, stated in the JAMA paper. Instead...

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This entry was posted in Allergy and Immunology, Pharmacology, Primary Care and tagged , , , , , , , , . Volume: .

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