Ultrasonography used in the diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis: From experimental imaging to clinical practice

Abstract

There is an increasing incidence of sinusitis cases in outpatient clinics; therefore, new methods for screening and triage are required. Performance of sinus sonography in our outpatient protocol was assessed in order to ascertain the specificity and sensitivity of this imaging method to detect rhinosinusitis. A total of 81 consecutive cases with clinical signs of sinusitis were collected and clinical data compared with sinus sonography results. Moreover, sinus sonography enhanced referral for further computed tomography scans. The results showed that sonography may be a screening method in sinus pathology, with a high sensitivity of 78.3% and a specificity of 93.1%. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of ultrasound for paranasal sinus imaging should be reconsidered as in the case of lung sonography. According to data of the present study, sinus ultrasound may be implemented in the emergency departments with no access to standard ENT services and it could be efficient in managing sinusitis in pregnant women and pediatric cases.