People with sinusitis are frequently prescribed antibiotics in the hope of clearing up the infection behind the inflammation. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the antibiotic amoxicillin made no difference in curing symptoms or improving quality of life.
The study was conducted on 166 people with sinusitis who were randomized to receive 10 days of amoxicillin or placebo three times a day. The results were assessed with the Sinonasal Outcome Test, known for short as SNOT-16.
One group of patients did benefit from antibiotic treatment. Those who had nasal obstruction at the outset were nearly five times more likely to have improved a week later on amoxicillin compared to those without nasal obstruction. The researchers concluded that “antibiotics provide little if any benefit for patients with clinically diagnosed acute rhinosinusitis.”
