Garbutt et al developed a 5 symptom (S5) score for evaluating children with acute sinus disease. It can be used to determine disease severity at presentation and response to therapy. The authors are from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Patient selection: pediatric patients from 6 months to 18 years of age
Symptoms:
(1) blocked up or stuffy nose
(2) headache or facial pain
(3) coughing during the day
(4) coughing at night
(5) color of mucus draining from the child's nose
Responses to First 4 Symptoms
Points
not a problem (absent, not present)
0
small/mild problem
1
medium/moderate problem
2
large/severe problem
3
Responses to Draining Nasal Mucus
Points
no discharge
0
clear
0
yellow
3
green
3
where:
• The original scoring includes a response for "don't know". For such a simple score it should be easy enough to find out.
total S5 score =
= SUM(points for all 5 symptoms)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 15
• The higher the score the more problematic the acute sinus disease.
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