Sinusitis resident survival guide
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Moises Romo M.D.
Overview
Rhinosinusitis is the inflammation of the nasal mucosa and paranasal sinuses. The terms sinusitis and rhinosinusitis are used interchangeably, although rhinosinusitis is preferred because inflammation of the paranasal sinuses rarely ever occurs without concurrent inflammation of the nasal mucosa. The cause of rhinosinusitis is mostly infectious, although it can be associated with other medical conditions such as allergies. The diagnosis is primarily clinical and imaging and other diagnostic studies are not necessary for diagnosis.
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
- Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.
- There are no known causes of life threatening causes of sinusitis.
Common Causes
Infectious causes of rhinosinusitis include viruses, bacteria, and fungi:[1][2]
- Bacteria
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Moraxella catarrhalis
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- Staphylococcus aureus: common in chronic sinusitis
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa: common in nosocomial sinusitis, cystic fibrosis patients and the immunocompromised
- Anaerobes: Prevotella, Fusobacterium and Peptostreptococcus: common in chronic sinusitis
- Fungi
- Aspergillus species
- Fusarium species
- The Mucorales
Diagnosis
Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the diagnosis of sinusitis according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology guidelines.
| Adult with possible sinusitis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration ≤ 4w | Duration 4-12w | Duration ≥ 12w | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No | Meets criteria for acute rhinosinusitis? | “Subacute” sinusitis excluded from guideline | Signs and symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis? | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Viral URI | Yes | Yes | Not CRS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No | Meets criteria for ABRS? | Yes | ABRS | Documented sinonasal inflammation? | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Viral ARS | Yes | Complication suspected? | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obtain radiologic imaging | No | CRS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Treatment
Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the treatment of sinusitis according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology guidelines.
Do's
- The content in this section is in bullet points.
Don'ts
- The content in this section is in bullet points.
References
- ↑ Brook I (2011). "Microbiology of sinusitis". Proc Am Thorac Soc. 8 (1): 90–100. doi:10.1513/pats.201006-038RN. PMID 21364226.
- ↑ deShazo RD, Chapin K, Swain RE (1997). "Fungal sinusitis". N. Engl. J. Med. 337 (4): 254–9. doi:10.1056/NEJM199707243370407. PMID 9227932.