Conservative treatment of chronic sinusitis. Success of oral bacterial lysate therapy

In a multicenter randomized double-blind study, 284 patients with chronic purulent sinusitis were treated with an oral immunostimulant or placebo in addition to standard therapy (antibiotics, mucolytics, inhalants). Treatment lasted for three ten-day periods in three consecutive months. At the start and during the therapy as well as after six months, symptoms were assessed on the basis of a scoring system and the X-rays of the nasal sinuses evaluated. During the course of therapy and the follow-up period, improvement of the major symptoms headache, purulent nasal discharge, cough, and expectoration was statistically significant in the immunostimulant group as compared with the placebo group, objective evidence being provided by the X-ray examinations and the number of reinfections during the period of observation.