Unsafe Drugs: Antibiotics Overprescribed for Sinus Infections?

U.S. researchers say that doctors are overprescribing antibiotics in the treatment of sinus infections. The study was published in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Hadley J. Sharp and colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center said that 82 percent of acute sinus infections and about 70 percent of chronic sinus infections. Such data is worrisome because most sinus infections are caused by viruses and antibiotics only can kill bacteria.

Too Many Antibiotics Prescribed For Sinus Infections

The researchers looked at national data from 1999 to 2002 to determine which drugs were being prescribed for sinus infections by general practitioners, outpatient, and emergency departments. The researchers summed up their discoveries by saying that "the most frequently recommended medications for treatment of both acute and chronic rhinosinusitis are antibiotic agents, followed by antihistamines; nasal decongestants; corticosteroids; and antitussive, expectorant and mucolytic agents, respectively".