Effect of Deviated Nasal Septum on Maxillary Sinus Volume and Occurrence of Sinusitis

Nose is the central part of mid-face and has an important functional, aesthetic and psychological role. The first modern and accurate descriptions of the paranasal sinuses can be traced to the works of the late 19th century Austrian anatomist Emil Zuckerkandl. In our study we tried to relate deviated nasal septum (DNS) with occurrence of sinusitis and its effect on volume of the maxillary sinus. It is a pioneer study in the field of otolaryngology and not many studies have been conducted on this topic. This is a cross sectional study involving patients with deviated nasal septum and having symptoms of sinusitis like fever, general malaise, body ache, headache, pain, tenderness, nasal discharge and post nasal discharge. The study was conducted at the department of otolaryngology at a tertiary care center on 84 subjects out of which 71 patients got CT scan done, which were included in the study. All subjects having Grade 5 and 6 DNS showed blocked osteomeatal complex (OMC) on CT scan while in Grade 2 the occurrence was only 50%. This finding was suggestive of increase in incidence of OMC block with increasing grade of DNS. The maxillary sinus volume for the cases was seen maximum in range of 9.1-10 cu mm by software and in the range of 8.1-9 cu mm for geometric analysis. Cases with Grade 2 DNS showed maximum cases in volume range of 11.1-12 followed by 9.1-10. On the other hand volume by geometric analysis showed equal cases in range 8.1-9 and 10.1-11. The study showed strong association of blocked OMC with high grade DNS. It also showed reduced sinus volume in higher grades of DNS. Further studies are needed in this field with a higher number of subjects to establish the relation between decreased volume of maxillary sinus and grade of DNS.