"That means about 90 percent actually have a viral infection," he added. "Even among patients already referred to a specialist, only about 40 percent or 50 percent actually have a bacterial infection, which means half or so have a virus, for which oral decongestants and Tylenol are the answer, not corticosteroids."
"I think this study is putting out a good general message that both antibiotics and steroids are subject to overuse," Stewart acknowledged. "But I would say that for the subset of patients who have a true bacterial sinusitis infection, steroid treatments may actually make an impact."
More information
For more on sinusitis, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
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