The family physician's reasonable approach to upper respiratory tract infection care for this century.

U PPER RESPIRATORY tract infections (URIs), the most expensive and widespread malady in the United States, represent 9% of the practice of the average family physician or pediatrician. They are the most common infectious conditions of children, with the average child having 5 to 8 infections per year. The associated health care costs include 23 million lost workdays and 26 million lost school days. In the United States colds account for 21 million visits and 12 million antibiotic prescriptions annually, at an estimated cost in 1994 of $37.5 million for antibiotics alone. Personal cost to the patient is decreased quality of life for the duration of the cold and worry to the parents of the sick child. Thus, we in the health care industry are forever seeking improved management for these usually self-limited URIs.