Abstract
We report twenty-four patients with acute frontal sinusitis whose diagnosis has been based on a criterion, of acute frontal headache and radiological shadow in the frontal sinus. The unilateral shadow of the frontal sinus was seen in 23 (96%) patients while unilateral shadow of the paranasal sinuses was seen in 18 patients (83%). Twenty-three patients (96%) who showed shadow finding in the frontal sinus also showed shadow in same side in not only ethmoidal but also maxillary sinuses, but only 5 patients (21%) showed shadow in the sphenoidal sinus. Pain of all patients was relieved by administration of antibiotics and analgesics in a week, and the shadow of the frontal sinus also decreased soon, but that of the maxillary sinus remained in many cases. In these cases, we irrigated the maxillary sinus with saline solution in 18 patiens (75%) and found prulent contents in 17 patients (71%) including cheese-like mass in 5 patients (21%). These findings suggest that non-acute maxillary sinusitis can induce acute frontal sinusitis.
