Anatomic Variations of the Paranasal Sinus in Children with Chronic Sinusitis

Kim, Byung Chul; Lee, Jang Woo; Kim, Yoon Tae; Oh, Jeong Hoon; Kim, Hyun Jun

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Endoscopic sinus surgery in children has increased in the recent years. Therefore, we need to know the precise anatomy and anatomic variations of the nose, and we also need to know the relationship between these anatomic variations and sinusitis. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: To assess the extent and distribution of diseases as well as associated anatomic abnormalities in this pediatric population, we retrospectively reviewed 94 OMU CT scans of children who showed continued symptoms of sinusitis after extensive medical therapy had failed. RESULTS: Maxillary sinusitis was the most common sinus infection, followed by ethmoidal, sphenoidal and frontal sinusitis. A agger nasi cell was the most common anatomic variation, followed by septal deviation, Haller's cell, concha bullosa, paradoxical middle turbinate and Onodi's cell. There was no statistical significance between the sinusitis and anatomic variations. CONCLUSION: Anatomic variations in the nose are common in children. However, because there is no definitive relationship between the anatomic variations and sinus disease, local, systemic or environmental factors appear to be more important in pediatric sinusitis than anatomic variations.