PARANASAL SINUS DEVELOPMENT IN CHRONIC SINUSITIS, CYSTIC-FIBROSIS, AND NORMAL COMPARISON POPULATION - A COMPUTERIZED-TOMOGRAPHY CORRELATIONSTUDY

Chronic sinus disease in patients with and without cystic fibrosis may have an impact on the pattern of paranasal sinus pneumatization. Arre st of pneumatization has been reported in both of these conditions. To assess the development of the paranasal sinuses in relationship to ch ronic sinusitis and cystic fibrosis (CF), a retrospective review of co ronal CT scans of the age-matched patients with no previous sinus dise ase, patients with chronic sinusitis, and cystic fibrosis patients was conducted. The patients' ages ranged from 4 to 17 years. The maxillar y sinus volume, anteroposterior diameter, and greatest transverse diam eter and height were determined using image analysis software after th e coronal CT scans were scanned into Macintosh computer. The size of t he maxillary sinus increased with advancing age in the control and chr onic sinusitis group, bur not in the patients with cystic fibrosis. Th e patients with cystic fibrosis had a statistically significant smalle r maxillary sinus size. Approximately 50% of the patients with chronic sinusitis had anatomic anomalies the most common being paradoxical mi ddle turbinates. The CT scans of CF patients were characterized by unc inate process demineralization and medial displacement of the lateral nasal wall in the middle meatus, and decreased maxillary sinus pneumat ization.