PREVALENCE OF SUBCLINICAL SINUS DISEASE I N HIV-POSITIVE PATIENTS EVALUATED BY COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY VERSUS A CONTROL POPULATION

To determine the prevalence of subclinical sinus disease in patients i nfected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cerebral computed tomography scans (CCT) done at the Tourcoing hospital over an 18-mont h period in 139 HIV-positive patients and 140 control patients without evidence of active sinus disease were reviewed retrospectively. CCTs were evaluated independently by two physicians who were blinded to cli nical data. Mucosal thickening and/or a full sinus were more common in HIV-positive patients (20/139, 14.4%) than in the controls (8/140, 5. 7%) (p=0.016). Mucosal thickening was the most common abnormality in b oth groups, CD4+ cell counts were not correlated with the radiographic abnormalities studied. These radiographic data suggest that subclinic al chronic sinusitis Independent from the degree of immune deficiency may be more common in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative subjects.