BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Although viruses are the cause of most sinus infections, doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics for about 82 percent of acute sinus infections and nearly 70 percent of chronic sinus infections, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

    Hadley J. Sharp and colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, used data from two national surveys to assess the medications prescribed for sinus infections at physicians offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments between 1999 and 2002.

    Based on the data collected in the surveys, an estimated 14 million visits to these health care facilities nationally per year were due to chronic rhinosinusitis and 3 million were because of acute rhinosinusitis.

    Rhinosinusitis, an inflammation of the sinus cavities (adjacent to the nasal passages) and commonly referred to as a sinus infection, is a common and expensive medical condition in the United States.

    "The most frequently recommended medications for treatment of both acute and chronic rhinosinusitis are antibiotic agents, followed by antihistamines; nasal decongestants; corticosteroids; and antitussive, expectorant and mucolytic agents, respectively," the authors write.

    "Prescription antibiotic drugs are being used far more than bacterial causes studies would indicate," they continue. "Nasal and inhaled corticosteroids are prescribed more frequently to treat acute rhinosinusitis than published studies imply is necessary.

    "At least one antibiotic was prescribed at 82.74 percent of visits for acute rhinosinusitis and 69.95 percent of those for chronic sinusitis," the authors write.

    It is possible physicians may have been treating secondary infections with antibiotics in some of the cases, the authors note. In addition, physicians may believe antibiotics are effective because patients improved while taking them, while in fact the symptoms may have cleared up without treatment.

    "While keeping the goals of treatment in mind, there are concerns about the overuse of antibiotics and the resultant problems, including drug resistance and increasingly virulent bacteria," the researchers conclude.

    In 2002, rhinosinusitis accounted for 21 percent of all antibiotic prescriptions for adults and 9 percent of those for children. The infection is considered acute when symptoms last up to four weeks, and chronic when symptoms persist for 12 weeks or longer.

    Acute rhinosinusitis is usually thought to be caused by infectious agents, while allergies, facial anatomy and hormonal changes may contribute to chronic cases.

    (Agencies)