Antibiotics and acute purulent rhinitis: Are antibiotics effective for acute purulent rhinitis?

doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7564.395-b

BMJ 2006;333:395-396 (19 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7564.395-b

Letter

Antibiotics and acute purulent rhinitis

Are antibiotics effective for acute purulent rhinitis?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Arroll and Kenealy conclude that antibiotics areprobably effective for acute purulent rhinitis but suggest thatmost patients will get better without them and hence advocatea "no antibiotics as first line" treatment plan.¹ Their systematicreview looked at seven studies comparing placebo with antibiotictreatment for "acute purulent rhinitis" and defined acute as"less than 10 days with this symptom." They considered all papersin the Cochrane reviews addressing the use of antibiotics for"the common cold and acute purulent rhinitis and for acute maxillarysinusitis."

They do not mention the evidence base used for the above definitions.The currently accepted definition of acute rhinosinusitis classifiesan acute episode as lasting for "up to four weeks with totalresolution of symptoms."² The authors have also grouped threedifferent conditions together under the general heading of acutepurulent rhinitis— namely, the common cold, acute purulentrhinitis, and acute . . . [Full text of this article]

Joanne Rimmer, specialist registrar in otolaryngology

West Middlesex University Hospital, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 6AF jrimmer@doctors.org.uk

John Almeyda, consultant otolaryngologist

West Middlesex University Hospital, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 6AF

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Are antibiotics effective for acute purulent rhinitis? Systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo controlled randomised trials: B Arroll and T Kenealy
BMJ 2006 333: 279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]