Preliminary Analysis to Quantify Sinonasal Airspace Changes in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Medical Imaging
• Anatomy

Background:

• Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a prevalent inflammatory condition of the nasal mucosa.
• Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to assess CRS.
• Quantifying sinonasal airspace volume changes due to CRS inflammation is crucial for understanding disease impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess and compare sinonasal and nasal cavity volumes in adult subjects with CRS versus healthy controls.
• To investigate the impact of CRS-related inflammation on sinonasal airspace dimensions.

Main Methods:

• 3D sinonasal airspaces were reconstructed from CT scans of 9 CRS patients (without polyposis) and 10 healthy adults.
• Volumetric analysis was performed to compare sinonasal airspace volumes between the two groups.

Main Results:

• The healthy group exhibited larger nasal cavity (23%), maxillary sinus (12%), and frontal sinus (61%) volumes compared to the CRS group, though not all reached statistical significance.
• Effect sizes indicated a volumetric advantage for the healthy group in these sinuses.
• Female CRS subjects showed significantly reduced maxillary and frontal sinus volumes.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary findings indicate that CRS-related inflammation leads to reduced sinonasal airspace volumes compared to normal anatomy.
• Observed sex-based differences in sinonasal volumes align with existing literature.
• Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the volumetric consequences of CRS.