Evaluation of Anatomical Variations of Paranasal Sinuses in Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) of Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Comparing with Normal Individuals

Introdouction: An exact knowledge of the anatomical variations of the paranasal sinuses (PNS) is critical for surgeons performing endoscopic sinus surgery and for radiologists involved in making preoperative evaluations. An important aspect is the determination of correlation between the anatomical variations of PNS and the presence of chronic rhinosinusitis (CR). Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has a very important role in evaluating the maxillofacial structures. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the anatomical variations of PNS in patients with CR as compared with normal individuals.
This cross-sectional study evaluated the CBCT scans of 57 patients with CR and 28 patients without CR. Anatomical variations observed in the multiplanar images were investigated. Data were processed using SPSS software. Fisher’s exact test was used for comparing the incidence of different anatomical variations in the control (normal) and CR (experimental) groups
The most frequent anatomical variation was septal deviation in 85.7% of normal individuals and 93% of patients with CR. No statistically significant difference existed between the prevalence of anatomical variations in both groups. In contrast, middle concha bullosa was more prevalent in normal individuals than in patients with CR.
Anatomical variations occurring in the PNS alone can not lead to CR. It may be accompanied by systemic, local, and environmental factors that could increase the susceptibility of the patient to this disease.