anatomic variations of paranasal sinuses in patients with chronic sinusitis and their correlation with ct scan staging

the presence of anatomic variations of paranasal sinuses must be noted in order to attain a full understanding and accurate diagnosis of chronic sinusitis. the frequency of anatomic variations in chronic sinusitis is different in various studies. the purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of anatomic variations in chronic sinusitis patients admitted to otolaryngology ward of shahid sadoughi hospital in the year 2004 and underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery. based on preoperative paranasal sinus ct scan the extent of patients diseases on a scale of 0-iv and the presence of anatomic variations was determined. a total of 120 patients were included. we found agger nasi cells in 43(36%), haller cells in 5 (4.17%) conchae bullosa in 15(12.5%), paradoxical middle turbinate in 2 (1.67%) and septal deviation in 54 patients (45%). patients with agger nasi (p.value : 0.015) and conchae bullosa (p.value : 0.024) demonstrated significantly higher scores on sinus ct scan compared with patients without agger nasi cells and conchae bullosa respectively. three months postoperatively we observed significantly less resolution of nasal congestion (p.value : 0.006) in patients with septal deviation than patients without it. no significant difference was seen among patients with and without other anatomic variations with regard to resolution of rhinorrhea and nasal congestion three months postoperatively.