Patients who undergo radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma tend to suffer
from sinusitis because irradiation causes damage to sinonasal tissue. When I had
to deal with this problem I realized that there is very little information about
the organisms causing sinusitis after radiation therapy. Two recent studies
provided important information about the unique microbiology of sinusitis in
these patients.
One study evaluated 25 patients with acute sinusitis and the other evaluated 30
with chronic sinusitis. Both studies found higher recovery of Staphylococcus
aureus in irradiated individuals. Because of the high prevalence of methicillin
resistant S. aureus (MRSA) these individuals may need to be treated with
antimicrobials effective against these organisms. To read more about these studies do to:
http://sinusitisunderstood.blogspot.com/

These studies underscore the need to obtain appropriate cultures from patients
with chronic sinusitis who were irradiated so that proper antimicrobials can be
administered to them.

Itzhak Brook MD