New rapid diagnostic criteria of acute sinusitis based on patterns of headache and facial pain in sinusitis: A study of 117 patients suffering from sinusitis

Abstract

Introduction There is need for any healthcare setup to rapidly identify Sinus headache patients from other cases of Neurological and Primary headaches like Migraine and Chronic Tension-type headache. Materials and Methods 117 cases of confirmed sinusitis were evaluated and analyzed for common traits which could help in the rapid diagnosis of Sinusitis. Results Unilateral, dull aching headache and facial pain, of changing intensity, lasting all day on an average of 4 to 6 hours with a previous short history of the common cold in acute sinusitis is the most common pattern observed in this study. Discussion Unilateral, dull aching headache and facial pain, of variable intensity, lasting all day on an average of 4 to 6 hours along with is highly sensitive criterion (91%) for diagnosis of acute sinusitis. This, along with a history of previous Upper Respiratory tract infection, is useful to rapidly screen patients for acute sinusitis (95% sensitive). Though a subset of other headache cases will also be included by the criteria, imaging or Endoscopy must be done in these positive cases to increase the specificity of the diagnostic criteria.