Bacteriology of acute and chronic ethmoid sinusitis

Aspirates from 26 acutely and 17 chronically infected ethmoid sinuses were studied. Thirty-seven aerobes and 10 anaerobes were recovered from isolates from patients with acute sinusitis. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were predominant. Twenty-seven aerobes and 41 anaerobes were found in isolates from patients with chronic sinusitis. The predominant isolates were anaerobic gram-negative bacilli and Peptostreptococcus spp.