Chronic Sinusitis

The infection will spread into her sinuses because the pharynx, sinuses, larynx, and trachea are all connected and the infection is prone to spread to the surrounding areas if not treated in a timely manner.

An infection would spread into Cari’s sinuses due to the sinuses being a drainage area for the nasal passage.

The nasal septum divides the medially into the right and left portion. The nasal septum separates the cranial cavity by the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone and by the oral cavity by the hand palate. Passageways called the superior, middle and inferior meatuses are the nasal conchae or turbinate bone that curl out from the lateral walls of the nasal cavity on each side. Nasal conchae support the mucous membranes that line the nasal cavity that help increase the surface area. The upper posterior portion of the nasal cavity is slit like and lines and contains the factory receptors that give use the sense of smell. The rest of the cavity conducts air to and from the nasopharynx.

The infection in Cari’s nasal passages and pharynx was able to spread into her sinuses due to the sinuses being a drainage area for the nasal passages.

A 25 Y/O male present with acute sinusitis. Based on your knowledge, the most likely causative organisms include all of the following except:

A deep infected sinus, extending from the skin to the subcutaneous tissues, can frequently mask osteomyelitis and delay healing.

Air (oxygen) is inhaled into the body by the nose. The air is warmed filtered and moistured in the nasal cavity as the air needs to be cleaned before passing it along to the pharynx. Mucous is held in the sinus cavity. With the joint help from the mucous and the tiny hairs in the nose our nose ensures that the air is cleared of pathogens so that the air is clean to move on to the pharynx. The tiny hairs in the nose causes us to sneeze resulting in pathogens that may have been inhaled to be sneezed out and released back into the atmosphere.

The paranasal sinuses are air-filled spaces situated in the bones of the skull and bones of the facial region. The different anatomical dimensions of the paranasal sinuses can be obtained from plain radiograph and Computed Tomography (CT) images (Pernilla, et al., 2010). There are four sinuses that can be found in the bone of the face and skull of humans and these sinuses consist of the frontal, the ethmoid, maxillary and the sphenoid sinuses. This study is therefore focused on one aspect of the paranasal sinuses: the frontal sinus (left and right sinuses). Sinuses are mucosa-lined air spaces in the bone of the face and skull. The frontal sinuses are paired lobulated cavities situated posterior to the supercilliary arches in the frontal bone

pneumoniae and there chemotactic signals and the host cell’s alternate pathway, invade the alveoli. Also red blood cells are recruited to this site. In the third stage, mostly neutrophils are packed into the alveoli and very few bacteria remain. In the final stage, macrophages eliminate the remaining residue from the inflammatory response. As one can see, the damage which is done to the lung is largely a result of the host’s inflammatory response, which causes the build up of fluids in the lungs. If S. pneumoniae is allowed to persist in the lungs it can then invade the blood, which causes bacteremia. When in the blood it can traverse the blood-brain barrier and infect the meninges, which results in meningitis. S. pneumoniae is also associated with diseases in other parts of the respiratory tract including the paranasal sinuses, which is better known as sinusitis, and the middle ear can become infected, which is known as otitis media. It has also been known to cause peritonitis, an inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdominal wall, and it is also implicated in causing arthritis.

Acute tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils secondary to an infectious process causing painful swallowing and is more commonly attributed to a viral cause rather than bacterial (Shepherd, 2013). A physical assessment of the tonsils may reveal an increase in size with edema and erythema. This is often associated with upper respiratory symptoms like, headache and cough (Shepherd, 2013). Another diagnosis is pharyngitis. Pharyngitis is also a sore throat which is secondary to inflammation noted at the back of the throat and associated with complaints of pain when swallowing (Shepherd, 2013). Viral pharyngitis is the most common and can be contributed to the rhino or coronavirus which lasts between 5-7 days and presents with associated symptoms like cough, headache, fatigue and mild fever (Ruppert & Fay, 2015). Finally, GABHS or more commonly noted as strep throat is a potential diagnosis. This bacterial infection is most common in children and adolescents. Often individuals present with symptoms including throat pain, fever, chills, headache, cervical lymphadenopathy and exudate noted to tonsils or in the pharyngeal (Ruppert & Fay, 2015). This infectious process in younger children may also present with gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain but is not accompanied by cough or nasal

The symptoms usually last for at least two weeks or even longer to about several months. Each bout of coughing usually last a minute to two. Symptoms of these include:

Breathing problems occur for a number of different reasons. The most common long-term reasons are acute sinusitis, allergies, asthma, emphysema and COPD, which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Sometimes the breathing problems last for shorter periods of time. People that suffer from sinusitis may experience trouble breathing through their noses for a week or two, then the nasal cavity starts to drain and the inflammation begins to subside.

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, with particular reference to the palatine tonsils , two ovoid bodies of about 2,5 - 3,5 cm in length and two in width consist of lymphoid tissue and placed at the sides of the throat, immediately behind and above the base of the tongue. The tonsils are exposed to inflammation, usually viral, bacterial, more rarely, resulting in enlargement of themselves and with referred pain in the throat and in some cases ear.

Tonsillitis is inflammation and tenderness of the tonsils. The tonsils service the immune system to shield the body from infections that may penetrate through the mouth. There are three types: acute tonsillitis, sub-acute tonsillitis and chronic tonsillitis.

On the back of your throat (located between the voice box and the tonsils), the two masses of tissue called tonsils serve as a filter, trapping germs can enter the airways and cause an infection. Tonsils also produce antibodies to fight the infection. But sometimes the tonsils themselves become infected. Overwhelmed by bacteria or viruses, they swell and become inflamed, the condition is known as tonsillitis.