KEY ACTION STATEMENTS

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Diagnosis and Management of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children Aged 1 to 18 Years

American Academy of Pediatrics

Publication Date: Jul 1, 2013

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

American Academy of Pediatrics Grading System

Level	Aggregate Evidence Quality	Benefit or Harm Predominates	Benefit or Harm Balanced
A	Intervention: Well-designed and conducted trials, meta-analyses on applicable populations Diagnosis: Independent gold standard studies of applicable populations	Strong Recommendation	Weak Recommendation (based on balance of benefit and harm)
B	≥1 RCTs Systematic reviews or meta-analyses of moderate-quality RCTs	Moderate
C	Nonrandomized trials, observational or registry studies, systematic reviews or meta-analyses of moderate quality studies	Moderate
D	Observational or registry studies with limited design and execution, systematic reviews or meta-analyses of studies limited by design and execution	Weak Recommendation (based on low quality evidence)	No recommendation may be made
E	Expert opinion, case reports, reasoning from first principles	Strong or Moderate Recommendation

Document Overview

Document Title: Diagnosis and Management of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children Aged 1 to 18 Years

Authoring Society: American Academy of Pediatrics

Document Publication Date: Jul 1, 2013

Page Last Reviewed/Updated: May 5, 2026

Document Type: Guideline

Country of Publication: United States

Full Text Freely Available: Yes

Full Text Guideline: pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/132/1/e262.full?sid=d097f97b-f34f-4b66-83aa-1d4882ef5fc7

Source Citation: Ellen R. Wald, et al. Diagnosis and Management of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children Aged 1 to 18 Years. Pediatrics. 2013; 132(1): e262-e280.

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Scope: Assessment and Screening, Diagnosis, Management, Treatment

Keywords: URI, acute bacterial sinusitis, pediatric acute sinusitis, sinus aspiration, sinusitis, upper respiratory infection (URTI)

Inclusion Criteria: Adolescent, Child, Infant

Health Care Settings: Ambulatory, Childcare Center, Emergency Care, Home Health, Hospital, Outpatient

Intended Users: Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

Number of Source Documents: 104

Literature Search Start Date: Thursday, July 1, 2010

Literature Search End Date: Thursday, November 1, 2012

Includes peer/external review process?: Yes

Includes public comment process?: No

Methodologist involvement?: Yes

Patient involvement?: No

Includes multi-disciplinary group?: Yes

Includes systematic review?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of evidence?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of recommendation?: Yes

Discloses funding source?: No

Discloses conflicts of interest?: Yes

Includes benefits/harms analysis with recommendations?: Yes