Author(s)
Hyung-sik Kim, MD
Su Jin Kim, MD
Kun Hee Lee, MD
Joong Saeng Cho, MD, PhD
Sung Wan Kim, MD, PhD
Affiliation(s)
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
Abstract:
Objectives: The absence of ventilation is one of the causes of chronic sinusitis. Nasal septal deviation (NSD) changes the structure of the nasal cavity, and results in ventilatory dysfunction of the sinus. This study investigates the incidence of sinusitis and its associated features in NSD patients. Methods: We analyzed 216 patients who underwent septoplasty under diagnoses NSD for nasal congestion and related features of paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT). The NSD was classified as Mladina classification, direction of septal deviation, presence or absence of sinusitis. In addition, the relationship between sinusitis and the type of NSD, clinical symptoms, and allergic rhinitis were investigated in the presence of sinusitis. Results: Of the 216 patients diagnosed with NSD, 86 (39.8%) had sinusitis. As compared to the mean prevalence of sinusitis in Korea (11.3%), the prevalence was significantly higher. In the Mladina classification, NSD patients were classified as type I (24.1%), type II (36.1%), type III (20.8%), type IV (5.6%), type VI (2.3%), or type VII (1.4%). Of the 78 patients classified as type II, 43 had sinusitis. On the other hand, among 138 patients with other types, 43 had sinusitis (p=0.001). In addition, there was no significant difference between the NSD without sinusitis group and the NSD with sinusitis group when comparing symptoms except nasal obstruction and comobidity rate of allergic rhinitis. Conclusions: We suggest that in patients with nasal septal deviation with a paranasal sinus, a CT scan may be necessary prior to surgery for evaluation of comorbid sinusitis and making a proper treatment plan, which is not predictable by clinical features.