Acute Community-Acquired Sinusitis

Acute sinusitis can be classified into categories on the basis of several characteristics, including the immune status of the patient; infectious or noninfectious nature; occurrence in the community or hospital setting; and viral, bacterial, or fungal etiology (table 1). These categories are of both theoretical and practical importance for understanding the pathogenesis and clinical expression of the infection and for optimizing approaches to diagnosis and treatment. This review is confined to sinus infections of viral and bacterial etiology acquired in the community.