SINUSITIS EPIDEMIOLOGY - A STUDY OF 326 S INUS ASPIRATES SAMPLED BETWEEN 1993 AND 1996

326 sinus aspirates were sampled in an ENT Unit from 270 patients betw een January 1993 and June 1996. All the samples were analyzed in the M icrobiology Laboratory. Sinusitis was maxillary in 93.9 % of the cases . Sinus aspirates were sampled in 85 acute sinusitis, 93 sub-acute sin usitis, and 148 chronic sinusitis cases. Cultures were positive in 166 cases (50.9 %) but pathogen bacteria were found only in 143 cases: on e microorganism was isolated 123 times and associated bacteria 20 time s. The most frequent strains were: Hemophilus influenzae (30), Strepto coccus pneumoniae (23), Staphylococcus aureus (21), and Pseudomonas ae ruginosa (19). Isolated bacteria were different according to the type of sinusitis: S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were the most frequent b acteria in acute or subacute sinusitis. S. aureus, H. influenzae and P . aeruginosa were the most frequent bacteria in chronic sinusitis. Sus ceptibility to antibiotics was studied through the disk method. The re sults for 142 aerobic strains were: 81 % of bacteria susceptible to am oxicillin associated with clavulanic acid; 75.3 % to pristinamycin; 73 .2 % to cefuroxime; 64.1 % to cefpodoxime; 53.5 % to ofloxecin, and on ly 43 % io cefixime. For the last 66 strains: 78.8 % susceptible to sp arfloxacin, and 69.7 % to cefotiam. We have found 9/23 S. pneumoniae w ith decreased susceptibility to penicillin and 9/29 H. influenzae prod ucing beta-lactamase.