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The correlation between bacteriological findings in the nose and maxillary sinus in acute maxillary sinusitis
Author(s) -
Axelsson A.,
Brorson J. E.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-197312000-00011
Subject(s) - sinusitis , haemophilus influenzae , medicine , sinus (botany) , nose , maxillary sinus , streptococcus pneumoniae , chronic sinusitis , microbiology and biotechnology , dentistry , surgery , biology , antibiotics , genus , botany
Nasal and sinus bacteriology have been investigated in healthy controls and in patients with acute maxillary sinusitis. Comparatively few healthy noses were sterile, and in controls the nasal bacterial flora commonly consisted mainly of staphylococci and diphtheroid rods. Nasal specimens from patients with sinusitis showed most common findings to be “no growth,” pneumococci, Haemophilus influenzae and staphylococci in that order. In aspirated sinus secretions there was a predominance of pneumococci, “no growth” and Haemophilus influenzae. Other bacteria were uncommon. Staphylococci were shown conclusively to be nasal contaminants. The same organisms were found in the nasal and sinus secretions of patients with sinusitis in only 64 percent, thus indicating that nasal samples are of low predictive value in reflecting sinus flora. It can be argued that in the individual patient with sinusitis it is more reliable to base therapy on the results of previous bacteriological investigations than on the individual bacteral findings in the nose.