JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Identifying Children Likely to Benefit From Antibiotics for Acute Sinusitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
The large overlap between symptoms of acute sinusitis and viral upper respiratory tract infection suggests that certain subgroups of children being diagnosed with acute sinusitis, and subsequently treated with antibiotics, derive little benefit from antibiotic use. ⋯ In children with acute sinusitis, antibiotic treatment had minimal benefit for those without nasopharyngeal bacterial pathogens on presentation, and its effects did not depend on the color of nasal discharge. Testing for specific bacteria on presentation may represent a strategy to reduce antibiotic use in this condition.