Bacteriology of chronic sinusitis in relation to middle meatal secretion

Background: The bacteriology of chronic sinusitis has been studied widely, but some factors may affect the results, such as sample sources and sampling techniques. However, whether the presence of secretion in the middle meatus affects the culture result has been studied rarely. Methods: When patients with chronic sinusitis underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery, swab specimens were taken from the ipsilateral middle meatuses and ethmoid sinuses under endoscopic guidance. While taking specimens from the middle meatuses, we observed the presence of secretions in the middle meatuses. The severity of chronic sinusitis was evaluated by preoperative computed tomography, which was scored by the Lund-Mackay system. The scores of the frontal, anterior ethmoid, maxillary sinus, and ostiomeatal complex were cumulated. Results: Between March 2001 and February 2004, 210 pairs of specimens were collected. The secretion was present in 82 middle meatuses and was absent in the other 128 middle meatuses. The culture rates Of middle meatus and ethmoid sinus specimens were 70.7 and 51.2%, respectively, for patients with secretions in the middle meatuses and 53.1 and 44.5%, respectively, for patients without secretions in the middle meatuses. The culture rate was significantly different for middle meatus specimens (p = 0.011) and the mean cumulated computed tomography score also was significantly higher in patients with secretions in the middle meatuses than in patients without secretions in the middle meatuses (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the presence of secretion in the middle meatus indicates more severe disease in the anterior group of paranasal sinuses.