Radiological Abnormalities of Paranasal Sinuses in Asthmatics with Rhinitis

Abstract

A total of 114 patients with asthma and coexisting rhinitis were screened radiologically for abnormalities suggestive of paranasal sinus (PNS) disease. Wefound such radiological abnormalities in 87 (76.3%) patients. Of these, 79 (90.8%) had involvement of maxillary sinuses, 29 (33.3%) offrontal sinuses, and 8 (9.2%) of sphenoidal sinuses. Sixteen (18.4%) patients had single sinus involvement, none being that of sphenoidal sinuses. Wefound erect occipito-mental (Water's) view most useful for the radiological screening of the PNS. Significance of these findings and possible clinical implications are reviewed. Radiological evaluation of the PNS is suggested to select patients requiring evaluation for sinusitis. (AmericanJournal of Rhinology9, [99][100][101] 1995) R adiological abnormalities of the paranasal sinuses (PNS) have been observed in both asthma and rhinitiS. 1 -3 Some of these are thought to be caused by sinusitis, which has been implicated in exacerbations of asthma. 4 Because rhinitis is an important precipitating factor of sinusitis,5 we evaluated patients with asthma and coexisting rhinitis for radiological abnormalities suggestive of sinusitis.Routine radiological evaluation of the PNS is often limited to obtaining erect occipito-mental (Water's) view. However, this does not visualize the posterior group of sinuses. In this study we assessed the contribution of lateral view that visualizes the posterior group of sinuses in the overall assessment of PNS abnormalities in our patients.