A recent study found doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat most sinus infections -- a move the study's author said could have harmful effects on patients.

Hadley Sharp, a medical student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and author of the study, said these findings are troubling because over-prescribing antibiotics can cause drug resistant bacteria to develop, as well as other problems.

"The reason you wouldn't want to overuse antibiotics is that you can develop resistance and more virulent bacteria develop, thereby decreasing the number of effective antibiotics," Sharp said.

Last year, University Health Services (UHS) reported 3,282 cases of sinus infections. Margaret Spear, director of UHS, said the department's policy is to avoid prescribing antibiotics for treatment of sinus infections in cases where their use is deemed unnecessary.

"If it is our assessment that it is probably viral, then we try to avoid the use of antibiotics," she said.

The study, which was published in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology, used data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics between 1999 and 2003.

The study found that, among the 14 million annual diagnoses of chronic rhinosinusitus --commonly known as a sinus infection -- antibiotics were prescribed almost 70 percent of the time. Antibiotics were prescribed 87 percent of the time for the more than three million diagnoses of acute rhinosinusitus.

"It's not surprising," said Dr. Patricia Klatt, director of Pharmacotherapy Education for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-St. Margaret. She added that the reason antibiotics are over-prescribed is because of patient demand.

"There's a perception that if you're not better in a few days, then you need an antibiotic," Klatt said.

Common symptoms of sinus infections are inflammations of the nose and sinuses, similar to a common cold, said Dr. John McGinn, an assistant professor of otolaryngology and neck surgery at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center. He added that the difference lies in whether the condition becomes chronic, lasting longer than 12 weeks, or remains acute.

"Only about one-half [percent] to 2 percent of colds turn into sinus infections, but all sinus infections start out as colds," McGinn said.

Sharp said antibiotic use is sometimes necessary in these chronic cases.

"It's one thing to say doctors are using too many antibiotics, but there is a role for antibiotics," Sharp said.

Preventing secondary bacterial infections that sometimes occur in cases of chronic rhinosinusitus is one such use, she said.

Klatt said this is a problem because antibiotics kill not only the bacteria causing the sinus infection, but other bacteria as well.

"The problem is that they don't work against only one type of bacteria. If one person has a viral infection and another has a bacterial, the antibiotic kills the same bacteria for each," Klatt said.

She said this could lead to other complications caused by a drop in normal bacteria levels.

Instead of antibiotics, Sharp suggests using over-the-counter remedies such as saline solution.

"Patients get a lot of relief from it, it's over-the-counter and it's widely available," Sharp said.