Many of us encounter sinus infections in our routine life for which doctors usually prescribe antibiotics. However, experts at the Washington University in St. Louis have revealed that antibiotics are apparently ineffective in treating sinus infections.
As part of the study, 166 adults suffering from sinus were randomly categorized into the amoxicillin or placebo group. They had to consume the respective medicine for a span of 10 days. Irrespective of amoxicillin use, patients were also exposed to drugs for pain relief, congestion, cough and fever.
“Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics. Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection – most people get better on their own,†specified Jay F. Piccirillo, MD, professor of otolaryngology and the study’s senior author.
The effects of the drugs were gauged after 3, 7, 10 and 28 days of treatment. The subjects also underwent the Sinonasal Outcome Test-16 (SNOT-16), where recurrence of symptoms was also taken note of. Those suffering from chronic sinus infections or other complications related to ear and chest issues were not included in the trial.
The team found that there was no apparent difference between a placebo and an amoxicillin use, by the third day. Notably, at day 7, a slight improvement seemed to be come forward in the antibiotic group. But, this subtle change was not associated with a distinct relief from the symptoms. There was also no significant outcome related to antibiotics in case of other medications used for fever and congestion.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.