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Sinuses are empty cavities within your cheek bones, around your eyes and behind your nose. Their main job is to warm, moisten and filter air in your nasal cavity. If your stuffy nose and cough last longer than 10-14 days or worsens after 7-10 days, you may have more than a cold. Rhinosinusitis is a swelling of one or more of your nasal sinuses and nasal passages. It is often called sinusitis or a sinus infection. Take this quiz to test your knowledge about sinusitis.
CT scan. CT is the most appropriate study for the diagnosis. An X-ray can be used, but it is of low sensitivity.
0.5-2%. Only 0.5-2% of acute viral rhinitis/sinusitis develops into acute bacterial sinusitis. Antibiotics should not be used for acute viral rhinitis/sinusitis.
Intravenous or intramuscular antibiotics. Intravenous antibiotic should be reserved for severe bacterial infection or for acute bacterial sinusitis that is associated with a related complication such as orbital or cranial infection. Oral antibiotics, intranasal steroid sprays and saline irrigation can lessen the length of the acute bacterial sinusitis.
Nasal endoscopy. Imaging such as a CT scan cannot definitively detect nasal polyps. Visual confirmation by nasal endoscopy needs to be done to definitively diagnose nasal polyps.
False. There are no FDA-approved treatments for chronic sinusitis without nasal polyps. However recently there has been several FDA-approvals for the treatment of nasal polyps.
Nasal polyps. Nasal polyps are more commonly bilateral, but other conditions are more often unilateral.
Cerebrospinal fluid leakage. A patient with a history of a unilateral clear rhinorrhea needs to be evaluated for cerebrospinal fluid leak. Beta-2 transferrin is the best test to evaluate and confirm for cerebrospinal fluid.
Learn more about sinusitis symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and management.