Maxillary sinusitis in patients referred to Qazvin Qods Hospital (2003 - 2005)

Background: Sinusitis is the inflammation of mucous membrane of maxillary sinus. The prevalence of maxillary sinusitis varies from one society to another based on the etiology. Sinusitis occurs secondary to dental origin in 10% of patients. Maxillary sinusitis can arise when the sinus membrane is violated following extraction of teeth, facial trauma, and maxillary osteotomies. Objective: To determine the frequency of maxillary sinusitis in patients referred to Qods Hospital in Qazvin (2003-2005). Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study in which the demographic information including age, sex, symptoms, sinus involvement and the type of treatment were obtained and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Findings: The results showed that the frequency of maxillary sinusitis was 86.95% (40 patients). Of 46 patients, 60.9% (28) were males and 39.1% (18) females. The male/female ratio was 1.5 to 1. The mean age of patients was 10.3±10.5 years with an age range of 2-56. The right maxillary sinus was the one frequently involved compared to other sinuses (27 cases, 58.69%). The left maxillary sinus in 3 cases (6.5%), both right and left maxillary sinuses in 10 cases (21.74%), and the frontal sinus in 5 cases (10.86%) were involved. In one patient, no sinus involvement was observed. Antibiotic therapy was given to 89.1% (41) of patients and in 10.9% (5) of cases a combination of medical therapy and surgery established. Fever, postnasal discharge, cough, pain were observed as the most common symptoms in 56.5, 47.8, 43.55, and 43.5% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the high frequency of maxillary sinusitis (86.95%) found in our study, the destructive outcomes of maxillary sinusitis and the treatment costs could be lowered if attempts are made to promote the knowledge of dentists and also establishing a logical relationship between ENT specialists and the dentists.