A study by the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group examined data from four studies involving almost 2,000 patients with acute sinusitis and determined that the benefits of intranasal corticosteroids (INCS) are “modest but clinically important.” According to the authors, the evidence is limited but “supports the use of INCS as a monotherapy or as an adjuvant therapy to antibiotics.”
Patients in the studies reviewed were treated with corticosteroid nasal sprays for 15 or 21 days, with no significant adverse events. Combined data showed a greater likelihood of resolution of symptoms for patients using intranasal steroids than for those who received a placebo, and patients who received higher doses of the drug experienced greater improvement in their symptoms.
The study was published online by the Cochrane Library on December 2, 2013. The Cochrane Collaboration is an independent nonprofit organization that conducts and publishes systematic reviews of primary health care research.
Read the abstract.
