What are the key clinical features that differentiate acute sinusitis from a common cold?

Key clinical features differentiating acute sinusitis from a common cold include:

• Duration and progression: Acute sinusitis symptoms typically last longer than 10 days without improvement or worsen after 5 days (double sickening), whereas common cold symptoms usually peak around 3 days and start improving after 5 days, with symptoms rarely lasting beyond 7–14 days except for mild cough ¹,².
• Symptom severity and type: Acute sinusitis often presents with severe localized pain, often unilateral and over the teeth and jaw, and may include fever greater than 38°C, purulent or discoloured nasal discharge, and marked deterioration after an initial milder phase ¹. In contrast, the common cold usually causes milder symptoms such as nasal congestion, rhinorrhoea, sneezing, sore throat, and malaise without severe localized pain or high fever ².
• Systemic features: Sinusitis may cause more significant systemic illness, including fever and facial pain, whereas the common cold is generally milder and self-limiting ¹,².
• Response to treatment: Sinusitis symptoms may respond to nasal corticosteroids and analgesics, while common cold symptoms are mostly managed with symptomatic relief and tend to resolve spontaneously ¹,².