Medical management of acute bacterial sinusitis - Recommendations of a Clinical Advisory Committee on Pediatric and Adult Sinusitis

Acute sinusitis is commonly encountered in clinical practice and treated in the primary care setting. The clinician should recognize the subtle clinic al presentation of acute bacterial sinusitis and initiate appropriate, aggr essive treatment. Other upper respiratory tract disorders can confound the accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of sinusitis. Variable pattern s of microbial resistance and antibiotic susceptibility and the dissociatio n between in vitro findings and clinical efficacy are a treatment challenge . This report is a: comprehensive review of the pathophysiology and diagnos is of acute sinusitis, infectious agents, treatment methods, antibiotic res istance patterns, and costs associated with the management of sinusitis. Tr eatment algorithms are presented for adult and pediatric sinusitis.