Prevalence of sinusitis in young asthmatics and its relation to bronchial asthma

In this paper, we present data on the prevalence of sinusitis and its relationship to bronchial asthma in 120 young male asthmatics evaluated without exacerbations of their disease. All patients reported respiratory symptoms during the preceding year, and in the most of them (74%), the severity of asthma was mild. Sinusitis was observed in 52 patients (43.3%), and the maxillary sinus was involved in 36 asthmatics. Sixteen of 52 patients with sinusitis had never had nasal symptoms of rhinitis. In all patients, physical examination of the lung was negative for wheezing. All patients had FEV1 (forced expiratory volume/forced vital capacity x 100 in 1 second of expiration) values in the normal range, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness was detected in 101 asthmatics (84.2%). One hundred sixteen patients (96.6%) were found to be skin reactors. We did not find statistical differences between asthmatics with or without sinusitis with regard to severity of asthma, basal lung function, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. We suggest that antibiotic therapy for sinusitis should be given only to asthmatics with worsening respiratory symptoms and obvious signs of chronic sinusitis.