Helpful Hint From a Sage

Most pediatricians question the wisdom of random use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections in children. However, there are still many physicians who make routine recourse to such treatment, perhaps without awareness that most upper respiratory tract infections are viral illnesses unaffected by antibiotic treatment. The results and conclusions by Soyka et al.1 provide good evidence. Their conclusions are that "Indiscriminate antibiotic therapy cannot substitute for proper diagnostic evaluation of the patient who may have a bacterial or, far more likely, a viral illness."