Key Points
Î Sinusitis affects about 1 in 8 adults in the United States, resulting in over
30 million annual diagnoses.
Î More than 1 in 5 antibiotics prescribed in adults are for sinusitis, making it
the fifth most common diagnosis responsible for antibiotic therapy.
Î About 20 million cases of presumed acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS)
occur annually in the United States, rendering it one of the most common
conditions encountered by clinicians.
Î The importance of ABRS relates not only to prevalence, but to the potential
for uncommon but serious complications that include meningitis, brain
abscess, orbital cellulitis and orbital abscess.
Figure 1. Paired images of the right middle meatus in artist's
view (left) and endoscopic view (right)
Reproduced with permission from Palmer JN, Chiu AG. Atlas of Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery.
Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2013.
