RT Book, Section A1 Rouby, Jean-Jacques A1 Lu, Qin A2 Tobin, Martin J. SR Print(0) ID 57076995 T1 Chapter 47. Sinus Infections in the Ventilated Patient T2 Principles and Practice of Mechanical Ventilation, 3e YR 2013 FD 2013 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-173626-8 LK accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57076995 RD 2024/03/28 AB Infection of paranasal sinus cavities is a well-recognized cause of fever in mechanically ventilated patients.1–7 Easy to detect in maxillary sinuses, the infectious process also frequently involves ethmoid, frontal, and sphenoid sinuses8 where the diagnosis is more difficult to establish.9 Infectious sinusitis represents an important reservoir of bacteria10 that may disseminate into the respiratory tract11 and intracranially.12 In contrast to community-acquired sinusitis, ventilator-associated sinusitis is often clinically silent in sedated critically ill patients and may be underdiagnosed if not systematically screened for in the presence of fever of unknown origin. In the absence of diagnosis and appropriate treatment, bacteremia,2,5 ventilator-associated pneumonia,13 and life-threatening complications, such as orbital infection,14 meningitis, mastoiditis, cerebral abscess, or thrombosis of the sinus cavernosus, may result.12 Early detection and treatment of infectious maxillary sinusitis significantly reduces the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and may decrease intensive care mortality.11