Sinusitis and antibiotics. Researchers studying the effect o…
Sinusitis and antibiotics. Researchers studying the effect of antibiotic treatment for acute sinusitis compared to symptomatic treatments randomly assigned 166 adults diagnosed with acute sinusitis to one of two groups: treatment or control. Study participants received either a 10-day course of amoxicillin (an antibiotic) or a placebo similar in appearance and taste. The placebo consisted of symptomatic treatments such as acetaminophen, nasal decongestants, etc. At the end of the 10-day period, patients were asked if they experienced improvement in symptoms. The distribution of responses is summarized below.11Links to an external site. (Garbutt et al. 2012Links to an external site.) Improvement Group No Yes Control 16 65 Treatment 19 66 The variable “Improvement in symptoms” is best classified as: