Abstract
The efficacy of macrolides on chronic paranasal sinusitis has been reported in many studies. We investigated the clinical efficacy of low-dose and long-term macrolide treatment on sinusitis and asthma in children. Between Sep 1997 and Sep 2000,37 subjects with chronic sinusitis, who were taking low-dose and long-term macrolide treatment, were recruited to this study. Among these subjects,65% were complicated with asthma (24 of 37), and 42% of these (10 of 24), were classified as severe(≤200 points of the scoring system of the Japanese guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma). After six months on average, we assessed the sinus radiograph and management score.
Findings in the sinus radiograph showed improvement in 62% of the patients. In addition,50%of the asthma complicated patients hsowed improvementof the management score. However, there was no correlation between improvement of the sinus radiograph and the asthma management score.
When the sinusitis patients complicated with asthma were classified into two groups according to the asthma management score(≤200 or <200 pts),80% of the severe patients(≤200 pts)showed a significant improvement in asthma compared with the mild patients(<200 pts)..
