Bony Changes in a Unilateral Maxillary Sinus Fungal Ball

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Medical Imaging
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Bone changes in sinus fungal balls (SFB) are not well-documented.
• Bacterial coinfection has been recently observed in SFB cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate bone changes in patients with unilateral maxillary SFB.
• To determine the impact of bacterial presence on the bony wall of the sinus.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 43 patients with unilateral maxillary SFB undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery.
• Preoperative CT scans were used to measure wall thickness and density of the diseased versus normal maxillary sinus.
• Sinus aspirate cultures were performed to identify bacterial presence.

Main Results:

• Osteitic changes, characterized by increased wall thickness and density, were observed in the diseased maxillary sinus compared to the normal side (P < 0.001).
• Bacterial cultures were positive in 72.1% of patients.
• No significant difference in wall thickening was found between culture-positive and culture-negative groups (P = 0.44).

Conclusions:

• Osteitic changes are prevalent in unilateral maxillary SFB.
• Bacterial coinfection does not significantly alter the development of osteitic changes in SFB.