Management of Acute Sinusitis via e-Visit.

Area of Science:

• Digital health
• Primary care
• Infectious disease management

Background:

• Acute sinusitis is a frequent outpatient diagnosis, often leading to antibiotic prescriptions.
• Limited research exists on the effectiveness of e-visits for sinusitis management regarding antibiotic use and patient follow-up.
• Evaluating alternative care models is crucial for optimizing antibiotic stewardship and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical outcomes of managing acute sinusitis via e-visits versus traditional face-to-face (F2F) and phone protocols.
• To assess differences in antibiotic prescribing rates and patient follow-up frequency across these care modalities.
• To determine the efficacy of e-visits as a comparable or superior alternative for acute sinusitis care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of primary care patients aged 18-75 diagnosed with acute sinusitis.
• Comparison of encounter types: e-visit, retail health clinic (F2F), and nurse-administered phone protocol.
• Analysis of initial antibiotic prescribing rates and follow-up visit frequency for each modality.

Main Results:

• E-visits and phone protocols resulted in significantly lower initial antibiotic prescribing rates (56% and 61%, respectively) compared to F2F visits (72%).
• No significant difference in follow-up rates was observed between e-visits (18%) and F2F visits (14%).
• E-visits demonstrated significantly fewer follow-up visits (18%) compared to the phone protocol (35%).

Conclusions:

• E-visits represent an effective method for managing acute sinusitis.
• This digital health modality offers equivalent or reduced rates of antibiotic treatment and patient follow-up compared to F2F and phone-based care.
• E-visits can optimize antibiotic stewardship and patient management in primary care settings.