BACTERIOLOGY OF SINUSITIS IN HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-POSITIVE PATIENTS - IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT

The bacteriology of sinusitis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-in fected patients has been only sporadically reported. In this study, we report the results of cultures taken from 12 HIV patients with refrac tory chronic sinusitis who underwent surgery. Nine of the 12 patients had positive cultures with 16 isolates and 5 patients having multiple isolates. Five of the 12 patients grew out atypical or opportunistic i nfections not responsive to standard medical therapy, including 3 pati ents with cytomegalovirus, 1 with Aspergillus fumigatus, and 1 with My cobacterium kansasii. These results suggest the need for aggressive me dical care for HN-infected patients with sinusitis and early intervent ion for tissue cultures in patients who do not respond to standard ant ibiotic regimens.