THE RELATIONSHIP OF SINUSITIS AND BRONCHIECTASIS

Abstract

The common association of sinusitis and bronchiectasis has been noted repeatedly in the past decade; the literature is mainly distributed in the journals of otolaryngology. Despite this fact, it is not yet well enough known that some patients with symptoms suggesting pulmonary tuberculosis but with repeatedly negative sputums may have bronchiectasis, usually associated with chronic infection of the upper respiratory tract. Far too often these patients are treated for long periods in sanatoriums for tuberculous patients. Within the past year two patients have been observed who spent six and eight years, respectively, receiving treatment for tuberculosis; both had fairly advanced bilateral bronchiestasis with pansinusitis. In one of these cases the patient denied that any investigation of the sinuses had been carried out during the period of years at the sanatorium. The French were among the first to recognize the common occurrence of chronic pulmonary infection in association