Intranasal budesonide spray as an adjunct to oral antibiotic therapy for acute sinusitis in children

We investigated the clinical value of intranasal budesonide in acute sinusi tis in 52 children with acute maxillary sinusitis. We randomly divided them into two groups: group 1 received oral pseudoephedrine (2 x 30 mg) and cef aclor (40 mg/kg) for 10 days, and group 2 received intranasal budesonide (2 x 100 mu g) and cefaclor (40 mg/kg) for 10 days. Symptoms of headache, cou gh, and nasal stuffiness and signs of nasal discharge were graded before an d after treatment. The patients whose symptoms and signs completely normali zed after treatment were considered to have recovered, and those with persi sting symptoms and signs after treatment as having not recovered. The resul ts of the two treatment groups were compared. The recovery rate of the chil dren in group 2 were significantly higher than those in group 1 (P < 0.05). No adverse drug effects were determined during the study period, These fin dings suggest that topical steroids may be a useful adjunctive agent in the treatment of acute sinusitis of children without apparent side effects and can possibly hasten the resolution of symptoms.