Adding a steroid intranasal spray to antibiotic treatment improves and speeds recovery for people with sinusitis.

Previous research hasn't proven any clear benefit for nasal steroid sprays in chronic sinusitis. But now doctors at Duke University in the US have carried out a clinical trial that shows that steroids could indeed be a useful addition to standard treatment.

They assigned 95 patients with chronic sinus problems to either an intranasal spray of the steroid fluticasone or a similar placebo spray, plus treatment with antibiotics and nasal decongestants. They received two puffs in each nostril once a day for 21 days. Eight weeks after starting treatment, they found that the sinusitis had cleared in 93.5 per cent of the steroid group, compared to 73.9 per cent of the control group - showing a clear benefit from the steroid.

Time to relief was also faster with the steroid - six days, on average, for the fluticasone group as compared to nine and a half for the control group. Sinusitis can easily turn into a chronic condition, sometimes with serious complications. Addition of steroids to standard treatment looks like a useful step forward in clearing up the condition more rapidly and effectively.

Source

Journal of the American Medical Association December 26 2001