Purpose: To investigate the clinical necessity of CT of the paranasal sinuses before bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.
Patients and methods: 80 patients with malignant disease underwent coronal CT of the paranasal sinuses prior to transplantation to exclude sinusitis.
Results: CT revealed sinusitis requesting therapy in 17/80 patients (21%). Patients with leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were significantly more affected. Chronic sinusitis was found in two patients, mucosal swelling not requesting therapy in 22, and normal findings in 39.
Conclusion: CT of the paranasal sinuses is advised in patients suffering haemoblastoses with an increased risk of infectious complications during the transplantation phase, because pathological findings can be expected in 21% of the patients. Diagnosis and therapy of an infectious focus within the paranasal sinuses is especially important prior to allogenous bone marrow transplantation.