ABSTRACT
I. Introduction 59
II. The Local Host Defense 60
A. The Antigen 61
B. The Host Respiratory Epithelium and Mucociliary
Transport System 62
III. Pathogenesis of Rhinosinusitis 62
A. Viral Infection 62
B. Respiratory Syncytial Virus 63
C. Parainfluenza 63
D. Allergy 64
IV. Conclusion 66
References 66
I. Introduction
Rhinorrhoea, mouth breathing, snoring, and hyponasal speech are very common
problems in childhood. Children with these symptoms cannot be diagnosed as
having either rhinitis or sinusitis. The more precise term for this symptom
complex is “rhinosinusitis” since the mucous membranes of the nose and parana-
sal sinuses are contiguous and one is rarely affected without the other. This was
confirmed by Gwaltney et al. (1), who found CT abnormalities of the sinuses of
87% healthy adults suffering from a common cold for 48-96 h.
