Taking Antibiotics For Sinus Infections Is Probably Worthless

Antibiotics that doctors typically dole out for sinus infections don’t do any good in treating the infections according to investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics,” says Jay F. Piccirillo, M.D., the study’s senior author. “Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection — most people get better on their own.”

“We feel antibiotics are overused in the primary-care setting,” says Jane M. Garbutt, M.D., another researcher. “There is a movement afoot, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to try to improve the judicious use of antibiotics. We hope this study provides scientific evidence that doctors can use with patients to explain that an antibiotic is not likely to help an acute sinus infection.”

The study was published in the February 15th edition of the Journal of the Medical American Medical Association .