Wy will lke con sle next ine: me n sen We vill pie on vi uci " de cch: nes ed! s in honof] Porlek” teenie The # hes, ibis, \nducted t ni Adi Ce. n with bl ‘le ne Mon hils py OM, won Crde the wr del Sinusitis: More Thn A Cold Guidelines RecommendDignosis And Tretment Options (NAPSA)—Tht sniffle my be more thn commoncold. If you suffer from stuffy nose, nsl dringe, or fcil pressure, you could be one of the millions of Americns suffering from sinusi- tis, bcteril condition tht usully begins with the commoncold. To help physicins dignose nd tret bcteril sinusitis in dults nd children, the Sinus nd Allergy Helth Prtnership (SAHP) issued guidelines bsed on new vilble tretments, s well s evolving trends seen in ntibiotic resistnce. essentil in the fight ginst ntibiotic resistnce. Antibiotic resistnce occurs when prescribed ntibiotic does not completely kill ll of the bcteri tht is cusing the infection. The bcteri tht survive becomeresistnt to the ntibiotic, mkingit less effective when used gin. The widespred use of ntibiotics to tret common virl illnesses is one of the primry cuses of ntibiotic resistnce. To id physicins in selecting n ntibiotic, the guidelines clssify the most commonly used ntibiotics into ctegories of expected success Recommended Tretment Options for Adults with Bcteril Sinusitis Mild Disese with No Recent Antibiotic Use (Pst 4-6 Weeks) Mild Disese with Previous Antibiotic Augmentin XR Regulr strength Augmentin e Vntin Augmentin XR Respirtory fluoroquinolones (Tequin, Avelox, Levquin) Rocephin Ceftin For ptient Miki Ferretti, this is good news. “I hve suffered from sinus infections on nd off for the lst eight yers,” she reclls. “When I hve n infection I wnt to tke the best mediction possible tht will completely destroy whtever is cusingit, I don’t wnt it to come bck.” There re pproximtely 20 million cses of sinusitis reported ech yer in the United Sttes. Sinusitis is the fifth most common dignosis for which n ntibiotic is prescribed, nd costs the United Sttes economy nerly $3.5 billion dollrs nnully. An ccurte dignosis of bcteril sinusitis is crucil in treting the disese nd preventing recurrent infections. However, uncover- ing the difference between virl nd bcteril sinusitis cn be chllenging becuse the symptoms re similr. According to the SAHP guidelines, dignosis of bcteril sinusitis my be mde when n upper respirtory infection does not improve fter 10 dys or worsensfter five to seven dys. Whenbcteril sinusitis is dignosed by physicin, the selection of n pproprite ntibiotic is Use or Moderte Disese @ or efficcy ginst the bcteri tht re responsible for most sinus infections. “These recommendtions should help physicins choose those ntibiotics tht cn best tret their ptients. Approprite ntibiotic use cn minimize the occurrence of ntibiotic resistnce nd thelikeli- hood of the sinus infection coming bck,” explined Dr. Jck Anon, er, nose nd throt specilist nd led uthorof the guidelines. Tretments re recommended ccording to disese severity s well s recent ntibiotic use. The guidelines identify two ctegories of severity for sinusitis, mild nd moderte nd divide ptients ccording to whether or not they were prescribed n ntibiotic in the pst. The Sinus nd Allergy Helth Prtnership is not-for-profit orgniztion creted through the joint efforts of the Americn Acdemyof Otolryngic Allergy, the Americn Acdemyof Otolryngology—Hed nd Neck Surgery nd the Americn Rhinologic Society. For more informtion bout sinusitis nd the tretment guidelines, see your doctor or visit www.shp.org.
