Microbiology of rhinosinusitis in immunosupressed patients from the university hospital Microbiologia das rinossinusites nos imunossuprimidos do hospital de clínicas

Immunosuppressed patients are often susceptible to upper airway infections, especially those of the paranasal sinuses. These can sometimes jeopardize treatment success and even lead to a fatal outcome. OBJECTIVE: To study the paranasal microbiology of immunosuppressed patients with clinical evidence of rhinosinusitis, and compare it with that from immunocompetent patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Retrospective study, in which 42 immunosuppressed and 16 immunocompetent patients were selected. All had clinically evident acute or recurrent rhinosinusitis and were submitted to ethmoidal or sphenoid sinusectomy or maxillary sinus puncture to gather material for microbiological cultures. RESULTS: There were 92% positive cultures, and 21% were negative. Of the positive cultures, 38% were bacterial, with P. aeruginosa being the most frequent agent; 64% were fungal, which occurred in the most immunocompromised patients. In the immunocompetent group, there were 62. 5% positive cultures and 37. 5% negative ones. All the positive ones were bacterial, with no fungi. CONCLUSIONS: Transplant recipients were prone to develop bacterial rhinosinusitis by Gram positive and Gram negative agents, the most common of the latter being Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Fungal infections occurred in the severely immunosuppressed, and it was absent in immunocompetent patientsOs pacientes imunossuprimidos têm maior risco de infecções de vias aéreas superiores, principalmente seios paranasais. Estas podem ter evolução fatal ou impedir a recuperação e o tratamento das doenças iniciais. OBJETIVO: Verificar a microbiologia dos seios paranasais dos pacientes imunossuprimidos com rinossinusite, em nosso serviço, e comparar com a microbiologia de pacientes imunocompetentes. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo retrospectivo, no qual foram selecionados 42 pacientes imunossuprimidos e 16 pacientes imunocompetentes. Todos tinham diagnóstico de rinossinusite aguda ou recorrente e foram submetidos à punção de seio maxilar ou sinusectomia etmoidal ou esfenoidal para coleta de secreção para cultura. RESULTADOS: Obteve-se 92% de cultura positiva e 21% negativa nos imunossuprimidos. Dos positivos, 38% foram bacterianos e 64%, fúngicos, sendo a bactéria mais frequente a P. aeruginosa. Os fungos apareceram nos pacientes com imunossupressão grave. Nos imunocompetentes, obteve-se cultura positiva em 62,5% dos pacientes, e negativa em 37,5% deles, com 100% de positividade para bactérias e ausência de fungos. CONCLUSÃO: Pacientes imunossuprimidos adquirem rinossinusites por bactérias Gram positivas, Gram negativas das mais diversas espécies, sendo Pseudomonas aeruginosa a mais frequente. As infecções fúngicas são mais frequentes em pacientes imunossuprimidos graves e ausentes em imunocompetente