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Evidence summaries

Sinusitis in the Common Cold

Viral sinusitis may frequently occur in the early days of the common cold, and appears to be a self-limited illness. Level of evidence: "C"

A cross-sectional study 1 assessed the occurrence, clinical profile, laboratory findings, and outcome of radiologically confirmed sinusitis in young adults. Clinical examinations and radiography of the paranasal sinuses were carried out on days 1, 7, and 21 in 197 patients with the common cold. The symptoms were recorded on diary cards on days 1 to 20.

On day 7, 39% of patients with the common cold had sinusitis, which we would prefer to call viral sinusitis. The symptoms of patients with sinusitis and those without it were not clinically distinguishable. Viral infection was detected in 81.6% of patients with sinusitis. No significantly increased levels of antibodies to bacteria were detected. Serum C reactive protein concentrations, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and white blood cell counts were low in patients with sinusitis. All patients made a clinical recovery within 21 days without antibiotic treatment.

    References

    • Puhakka T, Mäkelä MJ, Alanen A, Kallio T, Korsoff L, Arstila P, Leinonen M, Pulkkinen M, Suonpää J, Mertsola J, Ruuskanen O. Sinusitis in the common cold. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998 Sep;102(3):403-8. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords