MICROBIOLOGY OF NOSOCOMIAL SINUSITIS IN INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT PATIENTS

We performed a 2-year microbiological study of specimens of sinus flui d recovered from patients with suspected nosocomial sinusitis in six i ntensive care units. Over that period, 103 cases of sinusitis were doc umented by positive culture. The number of cases varied widely from on e unit to another and was particularly high in the neurosurgical unit. Cultures were often polymicrobial. The main pathogens were Staphyloco ccus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Enter obacteriaceae. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae wer e far less frequently isolated. Anaerobes and yeasts were often associ ated with aerobic bacteria. The pathogen involved was also recovered f ront bronchopulmonary samples in 50 patients and from blood cultures i n seven patients.