Objectives: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease with mucosal inflammation, and may sometimes be accompanied by bone thickening. The disease is usually bilateral; when it is unilateral, there may be a specific disease. This study aimed to investigate the association between unilateral sinus opacification and osteitis.
Methods: In total, 104 patients with computed tomography revealing unilateral sinus opacification were included in this study. Patients were retrospectively evaluated using the Global Osteitis Scoring Scale (GOSS) score, Lund-Mackey (LM) score, polyp score, and blood tests.
Results: In total, 47, 11, 9, 17, and 20 patients had CRS, paranasal sinus cyst, inverted papilloma, mycetoma, and odontogenic sinusitis, respectively. The GOSS score in patients with mycetoma was higher than that in patients with CRS. However, no significant differences in the GOSS scores between patients with mycetoma, inverted papilloma, and odontogenic sinusitis existed. 10 of the 104 patients had osteitis with extensive bone thickening and a GOSS score of 4 or higher. Patients with CRS and mycetoma tended to have a higher GOSS score for the maxillary sinus than for the other sinuses. There was a significant positive correlation between the GOSS score and LM score in patients with diseases other than paranasal sinus cyst.
Conclusions: Mycetoma is more likely to cause osteitis than CRS, and a unique mechanism of osteitis exacerbation is predicted. As there is a positive correlation between bone thickening and sinus inflammation, a close association between osteitis and mucosal inflammation is inferred in diseases involving unilateral sinus opacification.
Keywords: Global Osteitis Scoring Scale; mycetoma; osteitis; unilateral paranasal sinus opacification.