Sinusitis. Its association with asthma.

Sinusitis may present as an indolent infection, without the classic symptoms and signs commonly expected, and will probably be missed in children who have only cough and persistent rhinorrhea unless this diagnosis is kept in mind. Plain radiography is the most commonly used diagnostic procedure for sinusitis, but computed tomography may be more sensitive. The contribution of sinusitis to the induction and exacerbation of asthma is still unresolved. The existence of a nasobronchial reflex is not clearly supported by available data, although it is a likely explanation for the observed relationship between the two processes. However, sinusitis appears to be an important underlying trigger for some cases of asthma and, therefore, should be suspected any time that acute or chronic asthma is difficult to control.