Abstract
A prospective study of the bacteriology of 120 patients with chronic sinusitis and 55 control subjects seen between January 1995 and December 1998 in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Diseases Clinic of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria was made. Whereas all cultures from the control group yielded only Staphylococcus (63.6% Coagulase positive and 36.4% Coagulase negative), cultures of patients with chronic sinusitis yielded Staphylococcus aureus (48.1%), Escherichia coli (20.4%), Klebsiella spp. (20.4%), Streptococci (7.4%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (3.7%). The isolates were 100% sensitive to Ofloxacin, while penicillin was the least effective antimicrobial agent across board. It was concluded that because of the difficulty in differentiating pathogenic organisms from commensals, the result of nasal swabs should be interpreted with caution. However, non-otolaryngologists involved in the management of the vast majority of patients with chronic sinusitis should request a carefully obtained posterior nasal mucosal swab.
(Af J Clinical & Exp Microbiology: 2003 4(2): 91-97)
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