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Background After sinus surgery, patients are commonly instructed to irrigate with saline irrigations with their heads over a sink and noses directed inferiorly (nose-to-floor). Although irrigations can penetrate the sinuses in this head position, no study has assessed whether sphenoid sinus penetration can be improved by irrigating with the nose directed superiorly (nose-to-ceiling). The purpose of this study was to use a validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of sinus irrigations to assess the difference in sphenoid sinus delivery of irrigations after irrigating in a nose-to-floor vs nose-to-ceiling head position. Methods Bilateral maxillary antrostomies, total ethmoidectomies, wide sphenoidotomies, and a Draf III frontal sinusotomy were performed on a single fresh cadaver head. CFD models were created from postoperative computed tomography maxillofacial scans. CFD modeling software was used to simulate a 120-mL irrigation to the left nasal cavity with the following parameters: flow rate 30 mL/second, angle of irrigation 20 degrees to the nasal floor, and either nose-to-floor or nose-to-ceiling head positioning. Results In the postoperative CFD models, the sphenoid sinuses were completely penetrated by the irrigation while in a nose-to-ceiling head position. However, no sphenoid sinus penetration occurred in the nose-to-floor position. Other sinuses were similarly penetrated in both head positions, although the ipsilateral maxillary sinus was less penetrated in the nose-to-ceiling position. Conclusion CFD modeling demonstrated that the nose-to-ceiling head position was superior to the nose-to-floor position in delivering a 120-mL irrigation to the sphenoid sinuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) is commonly isolated from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, the role of CoNS in CRS remains controversial. We aimed to determine the association between positive CoNS culture at functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and CRS severity. Methods Adult CRS patients who underwent FESS between October 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011 were recruited. Patient demographics, disease characteristics, medication use, Lund-Mackay computed tomography (CT) scores, and 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores were collected at baseline before FESS. Intraoperative cultures were obtained in a standard manner. Patients were placed into 2 groups based on culture findings: patients with CoNS as the sole positive culture result and patients with all other positive culture results, including CoNS, as part of a polymicrobial culture. Results A total of 376 CRS patients met the criteria; 106 patients (28%) had CoNS as their only isolate, 260 (69%) had other positive cultures, and 10 (3%) had no bacterial growth. Compared to patients with other positive cultures, patients with the sole result of CoNS were significantly less likely to have a history of FESS (52% vs 65%, p = 0.019), nasal polyps (50% vs 65%, p = 0.006), and had a better Lund-Mackay CT score (11.95 vs 14.18, p = 0.020). After adjusting for all factors in the multiple logistic regression model, CoNS as the sole positive culture result was independently associated with having no history of FESS (odds ratio [OR] = 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22 to 0.94; p = 0.034). Conclusion Positive intraoperative CoNS cultures alone do not result in increased CRS disease burden by objective or subjective measures as compared to patients with other bacterial or polymicrobial culture isolates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]