Treatment of acute maxillary sinusitis. IV. Ampicillin, cephradine and erythromycinestolate with and without...

Six groups, each containing 50 patients with acute maxillary sinusitis, were treated with ampicillin plus nasal decongestant, ampicillin plus irrigation, cephradine plus nasal decongestant, cephradine plus irrigation, erythromycinestolate plus nasal decongestant, erythromycinestolate plus irrigation. The diagnosis was radiologically established and the healing likewise radiologically assessed on the fifth, tenth and fifteenth day. Treatment was given for 10 days. All groups demonstrated a similar radiological healing except cephradine plus nasal decongestant which was inferior to the others. Contrarily, side effects were least frequent in the cephradine groups and most frequent in patients cured with ampicillin. The difficulty in choosing the best treatment is discussed in relation to such factors as therapeutic results, side effects, long-term consequences of antibiotic treatment, establishment of any bacterial etiology and penetration characteristics of antibiotics into the diseased sinus.