Computed tomographic patterns of chronic rhinosinusitis in North- Eastern Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a major cause of inflammatory sinonasal diseases, resulting to frequent hospital visits. Computed tomography (CT) is essential in evaluation of CRS. The aim of this study was to determine the computed tomographic patterns of CRS in north-eastern Nigeria. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with CRS referred to the Radiology Department of our hospital for CT paranasal sinuses (PNS). The age, sex, and CT findings including involved sinuses, inflammatory patterns, CT Lund-Mackay (L-M) scores, and complications were obtained and recorded. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26. RESULTS: A total of 142 patients with CRS had CT PNS. Most patients (63.4%) were males, with a mean age ± SD of 35.5 ± 14.7 years. The maxillary sinus was the most involved (84.5%). The sporadic pattern was the most frequent inflammatory pattern, 38.7% patients. The mean L-M score was 4.8 ± 5.3, and 36.4% patients had an L-M score of ≥4 (significance for CRS). The mean L-M score was higher in males and the association between the mean L-M score and sex was significant (p = < 0.001). Complications of CRS were noted in 39.4% of patients. Of which, sinonasal polyp was the most frequent one (28.2%). The association of complications of CRS and sex was significant (p = < 0.001), and CRS complications were mostly observed in males. CONCLUSION: These insights highlight the importance of utilizing CT imaging for effective diagnosis of CRS and for ruling out its complications. The correlation of the L-M score with age and sex was negligible.