This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Barry E. Linden, MD; Eugenio A. Aguilar, MD; Steven J. Allen, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1988;114(8):860-861.

Abstract
• Maxillary sinusitis as a complication of nasotracheal intubation has long been recognized as difficult to diagnose and equally difficult to treat. To better define this problem from a diagnostic and therapeutic standpoint, we studied patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-Hermann Hospital over a six-month period. During this time, we identified 19 cases of maxillary sinusitis. Diagnostic criteria included fever, leukocytosis, purulent rhinorrhea, and maxillary sinus opacification or air fluid level noted on sinus roentgenograms. Patients who met these criteria underwent maxillary sinus aspiration. Sixteen patients were receiving antibiotic therapy when sinusitis was diagnosed. All patients had their endotracheal tubes replaced orally, had diseased maxillary antra lavaged, and underwent appropriate antibiotic therapy guided by culture and sensitivity studies. Four of 19 patients required more than one sinus lavage, but all patients had their sinus disease resolve. These data suggest an aggressive approach to diagnosing sinusitis in the nasotracheally intubated patient is needed. A maxillary sinus aspiration and lavage should be an integral part of the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.

(Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1988;114:860-861)

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (Drs Linden and Aguilar) and Anesthesiology (Dr Allen), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication March 28, 1988.

Reprint requests to the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin, MSMB 6.132, Houston, TX 77030 (Dr Linden).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Microbiology of Nosocomial Sinusitis in Mechanically Ventilated Children
Brook
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1998;124:35-38.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in the Critically I11
Jacobs et al.
J Intensive Care Med 1990;5:129-152.
ABSTRACT