The widespread use of standard antibiotics to treat sinus infections does not help cure patients and may harm them by increasing their resistance to the drugs, according to a new study published today.
The researchers found that the percentage of patients who got well in 10 days was about the same whether they took an antibiotic or a placebo. The study focused on cases likely caused by bacteria.
“With a little bit of patience, the body will usually heal itself,” said Dr. Ian Williamson, a family medicine researcher at the University of Southampton in England and lead author of the paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The results showed that patients should be more willing to forgo antibiotics, but they should still check with their doctors when a cold worsens into a sinus infection, he said.
Dr. Daniel Merenstein, a family physician at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study, said the study was more evidence of overuse of antibiotics, which has caused enormous problems with drug resistance.
More than 80 percent of American physicians prescribe antibiotics for sinus infections, he said. Recent studies also have shown that antibiotics are unnecessary for treating ear infections and bronchitis.
“Doctors and patients get into habits and use antibiotics,” Merenstein said. “Now people know we should just give supportive care,” such as pain relievers and saline nasal mists.
