Unilateral opacification of the paranasal sinuses in CT or MRI: an indication of an uncommon histological finding

Abstract

Clinical and radiological differentiation between subacute or chronic sinusitis and differential pathologies such as malignoma, inverted papilloma or mycosis can be very difficult. In some cases the CT- or MRI-scan shows a unilateral opacification of the paranasal sinuses. Which histological results can be found in patients with persisting sinusitis related problems and a unilateral opacification of the paranasal sinuses in the CT- or MRI-scan? There are only a few publications on this topic. In a prospective study between June 1998 and November 1999 all patients who underwent surgery in our Department for subacute or chronic sinusitis problems were included into our study group if they had a unilateral opacification of the paranasal sinuses. Thereafter, the same neuroradiologist verified the unilateral radiological findings on CT or MRI, unaware of the clinical and histological findings. Cases with a pre-existing histological examination, previous operation or injury to the paranasal system were excluded from this study. Data on clinical symptoms, radiological and histological findings were analysed. 43 cases with unilateral opacified paranasal sinuses were diagnosed by means of CT or MRI. These were comprised of 24 males and 19 females with an average age of 43.6 years (range 6 to 88 years). The major findings of our study were as follows: Firstly unilateral opacification of the paranasal sinuses is often (19/43 cases or 43%) associated with diseases othe than simple chronic sinusitis (8 inverted papilloma, 5 malignoma, 3 mycoses and one brown tumor, one osteoidosteoma and one haemangioma). Secondly the incidence of significant pathology other than simple chronic sinusitis rises strikingly with increasing age of the patient. For instance pathologies other than simple chronic sinusitis were found in 14% (1/7) of cases in the under 16 years group, 27% (6/22) of cases in the 16-60 years group and in 86% (10/12) of cases in the over 60 years group. Concerning clinical signs of our patients with unilateral sinus opacity 7 of 11 patients (63%) with epistaxis and 3/5 with diplopia had histological findings other than simple chronic sinusitis. In contrast unilateral rhinorrhea, unilateral nasal congestion and cephalgia were not of predictive value. Unilateral opacification of paranasal sinuses in the CT or MRI is--especially at a higher age--an indice for a neoplasm or mycotic sinusitis and therefore an early histological diagnosis or operative treatment is always suggested.