Abysmal Rate of Best Practices for Sinusitis

We have been here before: discussing the broad overprescription of antibiotics “just in case” within America’s urgent care clinics, primary care practices, and yes, even among ENTs.

It’s not getting much better.

The latest discouraging data comes from this study, which found that less than a third of patient visits resulted in conservative, evidence-based care:

Just 29 percent of adult acute sinusitis encounters followed accepted clinical guidelines for the prescription of antibiotics and the ordering of CT scans, says the Kaiser Permanente study, with emergency department visits significantly more likely to result in expensive imaging tests.

Some of this can be attributed to patient pressure, while the rest is almost certainly the result of individual caregivers trying to avoid making a mistake. But the net effect of so many unnecessary scripts is to hasten our slide into a post-antibiotic future, and endanger millions of immunocompromised individuals in the process.

For reasonable care with proper safeguards in place, please call my Los Angeles sinus surgery offices today.