Sinus antibiotics overprescribed, says study

Are U.S. doctors being a little overzealous when prescribing antibiotics to sufferers of sinus infections? According to a study just released yesterday, that indeed may be the case.

The study concluded that sinus infections are more often caused by viruses and not bacteria -- therefore, making antibiotics useless in many of the cases.

The study said that antibiotics were prescribed for about 82% of acute and 70% of chronic sinus infections -- but that "far outweighs the predicted incidence of bacterial causes. The literature repeatedly shows that viruses are by far the most frequent cause of acute rhinosinusitis."

Is this a cause of physicians not having the latest statistical information to allow for the most customized treatment of sinus infection patients? Sounds like it to me -- but you make the call. One thing is for sure -- it's never a bad idea to ask quite a few questions when visiting your doctor.