Americans
and Sinus Pain
If
you suffer from sinusitis, you are not alone.
- Chronic sinusitis
afflicts approximately 35 million or 15% of Americans each year.
- Sinusitis is more
prevalent than arthritis or hypertension.
- Chronic sinusitis
resulted in approximately 13 million physician office visits in 1994.
- The health impact
of chronic sinusitis on bodily pain and social functioning is worse
than that of congestive heart failure, angina, or back pain.
When
antibiotic treatment for infected sinuses fail, surgery may be necessary.
- In one year
(1995), 538,000 sinus surgical procedures were performed in the United
States:
- 475,000 of the
procedures were ambulatory (same day surgery); 55,000 were inpatient,
requiring an overnight hospital stay.
- 48% of the procedures
were performed on patients age 1544. Children under age 15 accounted
for 8% of the procedures; the balance (44%) were carried out on patients
45 and older.
- Patients in the
Northeast (31%) and South (30%) required more sinus surgical procedures
than those in the Midwest (20%) and West (19%).
- Women required
more sinus surgical procedures than men (52% versus 48%).
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