Difficulties in interpretation of culture results in sinusitis

In this article, we try to explain the difficulties met in the bacteriology laboratory when dealing with samples to diagnose sinusitis. The sampling techniques are very important since there are 3 main types of specimen. The transportation also needs to be done in a proper way, because fastidious organisms stop growing if optimal conditions are not achieved, and on the contrary, the commensal flora can overgrow the pathogens. The processing in the laboratory itself follows certain rules in order to reach some standardization. Nevertheless, the culture results are sometimes difficult to interpret. Thus, the clinician as well as the bacteriologist, should relate laboratory results to clinical history.