Chronic sinusitis

Patients with chronic sinusitis often have a paucity of symptoms. However, patients may have exacerbations of acute sinusitis superimposed on the chronic disease, which may cause sinus pain, fever, and malaise. More often, though, patients seek evaluation for nasal stuffiness, hyposmia or cacosmia, and purulent nasal and postnasal secretions. Antibiotics seldom eradicate the disease; sinus drainage is the immediate goal of treatment. In maxillary sinusitis, construction of a nasoantral window is the best form of definitive treatment.