Calcification in chronic maxillary sinusitis: comparison of CT findings with histopathologic results.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is important to differentiate fungal from nonfungal sinusitis in order to determine the optimal treatment for chronic sinusitis. The purpose of this study was to describe the CT findings of calcifications in chronic fungal and nonfungal maxillary sinusitis. METHODS: Five hundred ten patients with pathologically proved chronic maxillary sinusitis were studied with unenhanced CT before undergoing sinonasal surgery. In 36 patients, the CT scans were reviewed retrospectively to ascertain the shape and location of intrasinus calcifications. RESULTS: Calcifications were found in 20 (51%) of 39 patients with fungal sinusitis and in 16 (3%) of 471 patients with nonfungal sinusitis. Direct histopathologic correlation was performed in two of 16 patients with nonfungal sinusitis who had intrasinus calcification. The location of intrasinus calcification was central in 95% of the patients with fungal sinusitis and peripheral in 81% of those with nonfungal sinusitis. Although calcifications with a nodular or linear shape were seen in both fungal and nonfungal sinusitis, fine punctate type calcifications were seen only in those with fungal sinusitis (50%) and round or eggshell type calcifications only in those with nonfungal sinusitis (19%). CONCLUSION: Intrasinus calcifications are different in location and shape between fungal and nonfungal maxillary sinusitis. Although intrasinus calcification is uncommon in nonfungal sinusitis, the CT finding of intrasinus calcification may be helpful for differentiating fungal from nonfungal maxillary sinusitis.     

Imaging of the paranasal sinus

The paranasal sinus is an aerated space constructed of bones. Its draining pathway for secreted mucus is narrow and surrounded by structures such as the palate, orbit, and anterior cranial fossa. Many minute openings traverse the bony structure for innervation and blood supply. Therefore, CT and MRI play a complementary role in diagnosing sinonasal disease. When paranasal sinusitis is suspected, CT is conducted to evaluate the drainage passages, deviation of the nasal septum or normal variants, and bone sclerosis for preoperative planning of endoscopic sinus surgery. When a unilateral space-occupying lesion or bone destruction is detected by CT, malignancy may be considered. However, contrast resolution on CT is limited, and the procedure should be complemented by MRI. MRI is superior to CT in contrast resolution, and is more helpful in illustrating tumor extension or invasion into soft tissues such as the masticator space or into the orbital or intracranial space. The present report discusses sinonasal non-neoplastic and neoplastic diseases that have typical and characteristic findings on CT and MRI.     

Hypointense paranasal sinus foci: differential diagnosis with MR imaging and relation to CT findings

Despite the plethora of information provided by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that allows differentiation of some substances that are indistinguishable at computed tomography (CT), there are diagnostic problems. In particular, there are several quite disparate substances that all appear as either low signal intensity or signal void on T1-weighted images and even lower signal intensity or signal void on T2-weighted images. These substances include air, desiccated secretion, mycetomas, acute hemorrhage, calcium, bone, and enamel. When they are surrounded by material that has long T1 and T2 relaxation times, a not uncommon MR appearance in the sinonasal cavities, they may be impossible to differentiate from one another. The current explanations for the low signal intensities are presented, the similarities in the MR appearance are illustrated, and the use of CT to resolve diagnostic problems is discussed. CT appears to be the best modality for initially examining patients with suspected routine inflammatory disease or fungal infection.     

Sinonasal polyposis: investigation by direct coronal CT

To demonstrate the typical clinical and CT features of sinonasal polyposis, we reviewed the clinical records and preoperativ direct coronal CT scans of 35 patients with surgically proven disease. Symptoms included progressive nasal stuffiness (100%), rhinorrhea (69%), facial pain (60%), headache (43%) and anosmia (17%). We found associations with rhinitis (46%), asthma (29%) and aspirin sensitivity (9%). Coronal CT features included polypoid masses in the nasal cavity (91%), partial or complete pansinus opacification (90%), enlargement of infundibula (89%), bony attenuation of the ethmoid trabeculae (63%) and nasal septum (37%), opacified ethmoid sinuses with convex lateral walls (51%) and air-fluid levels (43%). The latter feature correlated with symptoms and signs of acute sinusitis in only 40% of patients. Recognition of sinonasal polyposis is important to the endoscopic surgeon since it can be the most troubling sinonasal inflammatory disease to manage due to its aggressive nature and tendency to recur despite appropriate treatment.     

霉菌性鼻窦炎的CT诊断

目的探讨霉菌性鼻窦炎CT特征性表现及诊断价值。方法回顾性分析25例经手术病理证实的霉菌性鼻窦炎CT表现。结果25例主要CT表现为病变均为单侧性,位于上颌窦或以上颌窦为主,累及其他鼻窦;病变窦腔密度不均匀增高,内有局灶性点状、絮状(9例),砂粒状、小斑片状(16例)高密度影;可有窦壁骨质破坏(13例)。结论霉菌性鼻窦炎在CT表现有特异性,CT对该病的诊断有很高的价值。     

鼻窦真菌病的CT诊断

探讨鼻窦真菌病的ＣＴ表现特征。材料和方法：回顾分析１０３例手术和病理证实的鼻窦真菌病的ＣＴ表现，其中累及上颌窦及蝶窦分别为９３和１０例。结果：病变未充满窦腔５６例（５４．４％），充满窦腔４７例（４５．６．％）。密度不均匀８７例（８４．４％），均匀１６例（１５．６％）。全窦腔受累者，基病变中心密度高于外周密度；病变涉及部分窦腔者显示为中央不规则的高密度软组织团块影伴窦壁黏膜增厚。９３例上颌窦真菌中，     

CT诊断真菌性鼻窦炎100例分析

目的回顾性总结真菌性鼻窦炎CT影像表现,并结合临床,探讨CT检查对诊断真菌性鼻窦炎的临床价值。方法收集100例确诊为真菌性鼻窦炎的病人资料并结合临床检查结果,与CT检查进行分析比较。鼻窦CT扫描采用骨窗和软组织窗扫描。结果 100例患者均为单侧鼻窦发病,其中真菌球型68例,慢性侵袭性真菌性鼻窦炎4例,变应性真菌性鼻窦炎28例。CT扫描影像特点为鼻窦腔散在较均匀毛玻璃特征或极不规则的线状,有星状分布的钙化点;伴不同程度骨质吸收或结构不清;窦壁骨质侵蚀15例。病变延伸到邻近结构3例,其中1例累及眼眶。有2例侧颅底骨质吸收。鼻腔或鼻窦内分布黏蛋白与CT显示毛玻璃样高密度影一致。结论真菌性鼻窦炎的鼻窦CT扫描显示与其他鼻窦炎不同。CT检查有助于准确诊断真菌性鼻窦炎。     

Paranasal sinus imaging

Endonasal surgery is currently extending its application beyond inflammatory sinonasal lesions to successfully treat both benign and malignant neoplasms. This progression has been possible by the detailed information provided by imaging techniques (CT, MRI and PET). Inflammatory diseases are the "domain" of CT. CT provides excellent details about the thin bony sinonasal walls separating the ethmoid from the anterior skull base and the orbit. Benign and malignant neoplasms are the "domain" of MRI because the tumor is more easily separated from adjacent structures, the periosteal linings (periorbita, dura mater) and perineural spread can be accurately shown. Whereas MRI precisely assess pre-treatment tumor extent, early submucosal local recurrences are difficult to demonstrate because of post-treatment changes of the anatomy and of the signal of treated tissues. Though diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced techniques are promising developments, PET-CT may overcome the limits of morphological MRI.     

CT imaging of fungal and nonfungal caseous sinusitis. A report of 50 cases

PURPOSE: Evaluate the contribution of CT for the diagnosis of caseous fungal and not fungal sinusitis, mostly of dental origin and often improperly called aspergillus sinusitis. MATERIAL: and methods. About 50 cases of caseous maxillary sinusitis, including 34 fungal sinusitis, the authors analyse the most important CT criteria. All patients underwent thereafter surgery, and the removal material was submitted to mycological investigations. RESULTS: Constructive and destructive modifications of the bone walls, fillings of sinus cavities and middle meatus are aspecific signs of chronicity. Dental origin foreign bodies and microcalcifications are more evocative but also non specific. Only the mycological investigation leads to the diagnosis of fungal and identifies by round fifty percent cases to the exact nature of fungal. CONCLUSION: There are no valid predictive criteria for fungal etiology by CT investigation.     

Recurring patterns of inflammatory sinonasal disease demonstrated on screening sinus CT.

PURPOSE: In order to define specific features on screening sinus CT (SSCT) that will aid the endoscopic surgeon in his approach to patients with inflammatory sinonasal disease, we sought to answer four questions: 1) what recurring patterns of inflammatory sinonasal disease are evident on SSCT; 2) what is the relative frequency of these recurring patterns; 3) how do these CT patterns correlate with the known sinus mucociliary drainage routes; and 4) what are the characteristic radiologic features of each pattern? METHODS: We reviewed the clinical and radiologic records of 500 consecutive patients who underwent SSCT as a prelude to possible functional endoscopic sinus surgery. RESULTS: Five recurring radiologic patterns of sinonasal inflammatory disease were identified: 1) infundibular (129/500 or 26%), 2) ostiomeatal unit (126/500 or 25%) 3) sphenoethmoidal recess (32/500 or 6%), 4) sinonasal polyposis (49/500 or 10%), and 5) sporadic (unclassifiable) (121/500 or 24%) patterns. Normal SSCT was seen in 133/500 patients (27%). CONCLUSION: Identification of specific patterns of sinonasal disease permits grouping of patients into nonsurgical (normal CT), routine (infundibular, ostiomeatal unit, and most sporadic patterns) and complex (sinonasal polyposis and sphenoethmoidal recess patterns) surgical groups. Assignment of patients to radiologic patterns allows a tailored surgical approach.     

X-ray computed tomographic study of the ethmoid bone and middle meatus. III. Application to chronic infectious sinus pathology]

As nasal endoscopy, high resolution CT is a part of the chronic rhinosinusitis pre-operative assessment. It shows, thanks to a precise and anatomical study of the ethmoid and sinusal draining, the extension of the diseases and the local morphological variations which predispose to chronic diseases. The main aspects of chronic sinusitis, nasal polyposis and fungal maxillary sinus diseases are reported. The frequency of individual morphological variations and the mucosal changes due to a nasal cycle require a great care in the interpretation of the diseases.     

真菌性鼻窦炎的CT与临床诊断

目的：探讨真菌性鼻窦炎的CT和临床特征以及新的分类。资料与方法：回顾性分析经手术、病理证实的34例真菌性鼻窦炎患者的CT表现。结果：CT征象：（1）所有受累鼻窦均显示窦腔内密度增高影；（2）上颌窦内可见团块状或线样钙化影25例（73．5％）；（3）窦腔高密度湿浊影中有气泡影8例；（4）上颌窦骨质吸收、破坏5例，窦壁骨质膨胀或变薄3例。结论：真菌性鼻窦炎有特征性的CT表现，如窦腔内可见团块状高密度影、线样钙化影或气泡影等。CT扫描结合鼻内镜检查是诊断本病的重要手段。     

慢性鼻炎鼻窦炎的CT表现及分型(附93例分析)

目的　探讨慢性鼻炎鼻窦炎CT表现及分型。方法　收集 93例经临床证实为慢性鼻炎鼻窦炎病人的CT影像资料。结果　慢性鼻炎鼻窦炎分为 6型 :(1 )漏斗型 ,占 1 7% ;(2 )鼻道窦口复合体型 ,占 2 8% ;(3)蝶筛隐窝型 ,占 6 % ;(4)鼻腔鼻窦息肉型 ,占 1 8% ;(5)特发型 ,占 1 4 % ;(6)混合型 ,占 1 6 %。结论　慢性鼻炎鼻窦炎的CT分型对指导鼻内镜手术治疗具有重要价值     

非侵袭性真菌性上颌窦炎的CT诊断

目的总结非侵袭性真菌性上颌窦炎的CT表现特征,以提高本病的正确诊断率。方法对经手术、病理证实的50例非侵袭性真菌性上颌窦炎的CT表现进行回顾性分析。结果 43例病变累及一侧上颌窦,7例累及同侧筛窦及鼻腔。病变窦腔内充以软组织密度影,内见斑点斑块状钙化36例,窦腔高密度影内见气泡影19例。34例见上颌窦窦壁骨质改变,窦壁骨质增生硬化26例;窦壁骨质吸收破坏24例。结论非侵袭性真菌性上颌窦炎具有特征性的CT表现,CT对该病的诊断有较高价值。     

鼻中隔偏曲与单侧上颌窦炎性病变的临床观察与CT图像处理

目的通过临床和CT图像观察了解鼻中隔偏曲与单侧上颌窦炎性病变的关系，探讨鼻中隔偏曲在慢性鼻窦炎发病中的作用。方法前瞻性、连续收集经鼻窦冠状位CT扫描证实的鼻中隔偏曲伴单侧上颌窦炎性病变（包括慢性上颌窦炎、上颌窦浆液性囊肿、上颌窦后鼻孔息肉和霉菌性上颌窦炎）患者56例，观察单侧上颌窦炎性病变与鼻中隔偏曲的关系。随机抽取10例患者的鼻窦冠状位CT图像，按Uygur法计算钩突所在平面两侧下鼻甲、钩突和中鼻甲的横断面积（以坐标纸格数表示）在各自鼻腔所占的百分数，并与10例正常对照（鼻中隔正直、无鼻窦病变）进行比较。结果56例患者中，单侧慢性上颌窦炎25例，上颌窦后鼻孔息肉9例，上颌窦浆液性囊肿5例，霉菌性上颌窦炎17例；病变位于鼻中隔偏曲鼻腔宽大侧35例（62．5％），狭窄侧21例（37．5％）。10例鼻中隔偏曲伴单侧上颌窦炎性病变患者下鼻甲、钩突和中鼻甲的横断面积在各自鼻腔所占的百分数在鼻腔宽侧为48．8％，窄侧为44．1％，两侧无显著性差异（P〉0．05）。10例正常对照下鼻甲、钩突和中鼻甲的横断面积在各自鼻腔所占的百分数为右侧40．1％，左侧39．8％，两侧无显著性差异（P〉0．05）。结论鼻中隔偏曲使鼻腔宽大侧发生单侧上颌窦炎性病变的机会大于鼻腔狭窄侧；临床处理上颌窦炎性病变的同时应矫正偏曲的鼻中隔，恢复鼻腔鼻窦正常的结构和功能，阻断鼻中隔偏曲造成的代偿失调。     

The etiological role of concha bullosa in chronic sinusitis

The etiological role of concha bullosa in chronic sinusitis is controversial. Previous investigators have not studied the relationship between the location of concha bullosa and different chronic sinusitis patterns We performed coronal paranasal sinuses CT in 100 Chinese patients with signs and symptoms of chronic sinusitis and recorded the presences and location of the concha bullosa and the pattern of sinonasal disease. The incidence of concha bullosa was 47 %. The presence of concha bullosa showed no statistically significant association with different patterns of chronic sinusitis. Correspondence to: W.W.M. Lam     

Fungal sinusitis: diagnosis with CT and MR imaging

Of 293 patients who underwent computed tomography (CT), surgery, and pathologic examination for chronic sinusitis, 25 had a diagnosis of fungal sinusitis at pathologic examination. Of these, 22 had foci of increased attenuation at CT (in four patients the mean representative CT number [Hounsfied unit] was 122.2 HU [SD, 8.2 HU]), and three did not. Of the 22, 19 patients (76%) met the CT criterion of this study (there was a 12% false-positive and a 12% false-negative diagnostic rate). Six of the 19 patients and one additional patient underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and all demonstrated remarkably hypointense signal characteristics on T2-weighted images. The findings at MR imaging therefore appear more characteristic of fungal sinusitis than the findings at CT. Furnace atomic absorption spectrometry showed increased concentrations of iron and manganese in mycetoma compared with their concentrations in bacterially infected mucus. This finding and the presence of calcium in the fungal concretion may explain the hypointense T2-weighted signal on MR images.     

Rhinoscleroma with orbital extension: CT and MRI

We describe the MRI features of a rhinoscleroma with orbital extension. This benign bacterial and granulomatous lesion of the paranasal sinuses gave homogeneous low intensity on T2-weighted images and enhanced with gadolinium. It could simulate a malignant sinonasal tumour or a fungal sinusitis; the diagnosis must be considered in patients from endemic areas.     

Current indications and techniques in evaluating inflammatory disease and neoplasia of the sinonasal cavities

Imaging strategies of the sinossanal cavities have undergone extensive revision over the last 5-year period. The traditional imaging examination of the parasanal sinuses, plain film radiography, does reasonably well in diagnosing maxillary, frontal, and sphenoid sinusitis. HOwever, it less reliable in depicting abnormalities in the ethmoid sinuses, the most common area first affected with inflammatory disease. Compared with sinus computed tomography (CT), plain films prove to be less specific and sensitive in depicting the extent of sinus abnormalities. One series plainly concluded that sinus radiographs were not reliable enough to be an integral part of the clinical decision process. The use of plain radiographs of the sinuses has clearly been reduced by medical cost-containment concerns, replacement by superior techniques, and by clear weaknesses of the modality. Although it is inexpensive and easily accessible, the low sensitivities and inaccuracies of plain film radiography have resulted in the current use of CT and high-field-strength (1.5 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). By using this cross-sectional imaging, we now visualize directly the pathoogic conditions within the sinuses, as well as the normal anatomy. We discuss current use of diagnostic imaging in the evaluation of patients with nasosinusoidal complaints (most commonly resulting from acute and chronic inflammatory disease), with complications of sinonasal inflammatory disease, and with suspected/documented neoplasia. In addition to developing an imaging algorithm to provide the information affecting clinical decision making, we detail the specific imaging techniques necessary accurately to obtain that information. We also review the specific concerns about imaging patients in the intensive care unit and touch on several emerging imaging techniques. The imaging workup in pediatric patients and patients with congenital anomalies is beyond the scope of this review.     

额隐窝气房的多层螺旋CT分析

目的:研究额气房在额隐窝的发生率及其与慢性额窦炎发病的关系。方法:收集两年间因慢性鼻窦炎住院行鼻内镜手术的患者多层螺旋CT资料,利用SYNEO CT Workplace Valla图形工作站行多平面鼻窦CT重建,观察额气房发生率,测量额窦峡部的前后径和面积。结果:额隐窝额气房发生率为25.3%,其中无前期手术史组为28.7%,有前期手术史组为21.0%,34.6%的患者有单侧或者双侧的额气房,Ⅰ型额气房(16.0%)最常见。额窦炎的存在与额窦峡部的前后径和面积在有额气房和没有额气房的患者之间没有差异。结论:额气房是额隐窝比较常见的气房,额气房与高额窦炎发病率并不相关,额窦峡部的前后径和面积与额窦炎的发病率也不相关。尽管额隐窝的解剖变异在慢性额窦炎中起一定作用,但粘膜炎症进程是更重要的原因。