Imaging evaluation of sinusitis: diagnostic performance and impact on health outcome

Sinusitis is a highly prevalent disease, with a significant impact on the health care economy. Sinus CT is the primary imaging modality for evaluation of acute and chronic sinusitis. The roles of CT for patients with sinusitis are to assist clinical diagnosis, to evaluate the extent of disease, and to provide detailed anatomy necessary for treatment planning. Although sinus CT has been criticized for lack of specificity and correlation with patients' clinical symptoms, sinus CT may provide pivotal objective information that affects treatment decisions for acute and chronic sinusitis. This article provides a clinical overview and reviews the role of imaging studies in diagnosis and treatment of sinusitis.