Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Acute Rhinosinusitis
Authors: James R. Johnson
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Letters7 May 2002Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Acute RhinosinusitisJames R. Johnson, MDJames R. Johnson, MDVeterans Affairs Medical CenterMinneapolis, MN 55417Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-136-9-200205070-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:According to the background paper by Hickner and colleagues on antibiotic use in acute rhinosinusitis (1), “The greatest barrier to efficient antibiotic treatment of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis is lack of a simple and accurate diagnostic test.” This and the accompanying guideline (2) do not mention the possible utility of the Gram stain. Dr. Bartlett, a coauthor of the Hickner paper, has advocated use of the sputum Gram stain in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (3). Since the gold standard for bacterial rhinosinusitis is more than 105 colony-forming units per mL of bacteria in purulent sinus fluid (1), a ...References1. Hickner JM, Bartlett JG, Besser RE, Gonzales R, Hoffman JR, Sande MA. Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for acute rhinosinusitis in adults: background. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:498-505. [PMID: 11255528] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Snow V, Mottur-Pilson C, Hickner JM. Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for acute sinusitis in adults. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:495-7. [PMID: 11255527] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Bartlett JG, Dowell SF, Mandell LA, File TM, Musher DM, Fine MJ. Practice guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2000;31:347-82. [PMID: 10987697] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Gonzales R, Bartlett JG, Besser RE, Hickner JM, Hoffman JR, Sande MA. Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections in adults: background. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:490-4. [PMID: 11255526] LinkGoogle Scholar5. Snow V, Mottur-Pilson C, Gonzales R. Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections in adults. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:487-9. [PMID: 11255525] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Veterans Affairs Medical CenterMinneapolis, MN 55417 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPrinciples of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Treatment of Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults Vincenza Snow , Christel Mottur-Pilson , Ralph Gonzales , and Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Treatment of Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults: Background Ralph Gonzales , John G. Bartlett , Richard E. Besser , John M. Hickner , Jerome R. Hoffman , and Merle A. Sande Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Acute Sinusitis in Adults Vincenza Snow , Christel Mottur-Pilson , John M. Hickner , and Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Acute Rhinosinusitis in Adults: Background John M. Hickner , John G. Bartlett , Richard E. Besser , Ralph Gonzales , Jerome R. Hoffman , and Merle A. Sande Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Acute Pharyngitis in Adults Vincenza Snow , Christel Mottur-Pilson , Richelle J. Cooper , Jerome R. Hoffman , and Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections James R. Johnson Metrics 7 May 2002Volume 136, Issue 9Page: 708-709KeywordsAntibioticsBacteriaBacterial culturesColony forming unitsNeutrophilsPatient advocacyPneumoniaRhinovirus infectionSigns and symptomsSputum ePublished: 7 May 2002 Issue Published: 7 May 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...