Antibiotics don’t help fight most sinus infections, although doctors routinely prescribe them for that purpose, according to a new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Fewer than two percent of sinus infections are bacterial, said Anthony Chow, an expert in infectious diseases at UBC. “Most cases are viral, and the vast majority don’t require antibiotics,” he said. “Antibiotics have been abused, so there is a need to be more cautious in prescribing them and to hold back.”
But he said that antibiotics still do have a place and recently chaired a committee at the Infectious Diseases Society, which has developed guidelines to help spot infections that are more likely to be bacterial.
Reuters, Wed Feb 15 2012, By: Frederik Joelving, Link to full text