<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus (FBMS) is the most common form of chronic fungal rhinosinusitis in adults. It is a condition of old age, usually with unilateral involvement, and with female preponderance. It is especially described in immunocompetent individuals and is characterized by a slow and benign evolution. Although the etiology, pathogenesis and natural history of fungal rhino-sinusitis have been studied extensively, they are far from being fully understood. The clinical presentation and endoscopic findings in patients with fungus ball of the maxillary sinus are nonspecific, often identical to those of chronic bacterial rhinosinusitis and the cultures are often negative. Imaging evaluation by CT scan suggests, by characteristic signs, a correct diagnosis, which is then correlated with the histological identification of fungal hyphae. Microbiological, histopathological and mycological examinations of nasal secretion established with certainty a variety of bacteria (70%) and fungi (61.7%) in a group of 60 patients with FBMS included in a three-year study. The most commonly detected bacterial floras were <italic>Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter Koseri, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Moraxella catarrhalis</italic> and <italic>Klebsiella oxytoca</italic>. On culture media, the most common fungal agents were <italic>Aspergillus fumigatus</italic> and <italic>Aspergillus flavus.</italic></p></abstract>

Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus (FBMS) is the most common form of chronic fungal rhinosinusitis in adults. It is a condition of old age, usually with unilateral involvement, and with female preponderance. It is especially described in immunocompetent individuals and is characterized by a slow and benign evolution. Although the etiology, pathogenesis and natural history of fungal rhino-sinusitis have been studied extensively, they are far from being fully understood. The clinical presentation and endoscopic findings in patients with fungus ball of the maxillary sinus are nonspecific, often identical to those of chronic bacterial rhinosinusitis and the cultures are often negative. Imaging evaluation by CT scan suggests, by characteristic signs, a correct diagnosis, which is then correlated with the histological identification of fungal hyphae. Microbiological, histopathological and mycological examinations of nasal secretion established with certainty a variety of bacteria (70%) and fungi (61.7%) in a group of 60 patients with FBMS included in a three-year study. The most commonly detected bacterial floras were Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter Koseri, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Moraxella catarrhalis and Klebsiella oxytoca. On culture media, the most common fungal agents were Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus.

Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus: clinical and diagnostic characteristics

Public Institution “Nicolae Testemiţanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Romanian Journal of Rhinology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus: clinical and diagnostic characteristics"}

Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus (FBMS) is the most common form of chronic fungal rhinosinusitis in adults. It is a condition of old age, usually with...

Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus: clinical and diagnostic characteristics

Published Online: Nov 04, 2020

Page range: 108 - 116

Received: Jul 08, 2020

Accepted: Aug 13, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjr-2020-0024

Keywords
fungus ball, maxillary sinus, fungi, fungal hyphae

© 2020 Lucia Gariuc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fungus ball of the maxillary sinus: clinical and diagnostic characteristics

Published Online: Nov 04, 2020

Page range: 108 - 116

Received: Jul 08, 2020

Accepted: Aug 13, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjr-2020-0024

Keywordsfungus ball, maxillary sinus, fungi, fungal hyphae

© 2020 Lucia Gariuc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
fungus ball, maxillary sinus, fungi, fungal hyphae