Acute frontal sinusitis

Acute sinusitis is one of the leading diagnoses made in ambulatory medicine. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) estimates that 20 million cases of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS) occur each year [1]. The incidence of acute frontal sinusitis (AFS) specifically is considerably lower, less common than maxillary sinusitis in adults and ethmoid sinusitis in children. Medical therapies for acute sinusitis result in expenditures of $3.5 billion per year in the United States. Of all antibiotics prescribed in 2002, 9% of pediatric prescriptions and 18% of adult prescriptions were written for a diagnosis of acute sinusitis [1]. AFS occurs most commonly in adolescent males and young men.While the reasons for the male predilection are unknown, the age predilection appears likely due to the peak vascularity and peak development of the frontal sinuses between the ages of 7 and 20. Although AFS is largely a self-limited disease, complications of acute sinusitis can have catastrophic clinical consequences if not detected promptly.