Objective: To determine if the degree of radiologic changes noted on computed tomography (CT) scan correlate with the severity of histologic changes.
Design: Retrospective analysis.
Setting: Academic tertiary care centre.
Methods: Sixty consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis, with complete data obtained for 131 sinuses.
Main outcome measures: Paranasal sinus CT scans and pathologic reports were examined. Respective findings were graded as mild, moderate, or severe, and the results were analyzed for agreement. CT scan grading was based on the extent of sinus opacification and pathologic grading was determined by the number of inflammatory cells found in the sinus mucosa.
Results: Of the 51 ethmoid sinuses, agreement between the radiographic and histologic grading occurred in 32 or 62.7%. In the maxillary group, a 57.1% (24 of 42) correlation was noted. Of the 20 frontal sinuses, agreement occurred in 8 or 40%, whereas a 22.2% (4 of 18) correlation was present in the sphenoid group.
Conclusion: This study suggests that the severity of sinus disease based on preoperative CT scan does not correlate with the histologic degree of disease.