Paranasal sinuses development mechanisms are not well known. Nasal air flow, according to one of the proposed theories, would be fundamental to the growth and healthy development of paranasal sinuses. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the maxillary sinus growth and health in the presence and absence of postnasal air flow through a unique model. Materials and methods: Retrospective study of a series of cases; preoperative CT scans of 7 patients with unilateral choanal atresia, average age was 16.28 years (± 5.024). This study was done in a tertiary hospital, with patients treated between 1994 and 2004. The area of the maxillary sinuses was measured with the aid an Auto-Cad software. Kruskal-Wallis test was used in the statistical analysis. Results: Symmetrical or even bigger maxillary sinuses were found in the same side of the choanal atresia in 85.71% of the cases. There was no significant statistic difference between compared sides. CT Scan signs of sinus disease were not seem in these patients. Conclusion: These findings oppose the commonly accepted theory about the role of nasal air flow in health and development of paranasal cavities.
Nasal Polyposis is a chronic inflammatory process of the nasal mucosa, characterized by multiple and bilateral nasal polyps. Different drugs have been used in its treatment. In order to study the results of different treatment modalities it is necessary to have some kind of staging. Aim: to present a new endoscopic staging method, based on nasal endoscopy and on the three-dimensional nasal polyp assessment; and compare its reproducibility with that from two other systems already established in the literature. Study design: Cohort study. Material and methods: Three experts assessed the exams of 20 patients with nasal polyposis at different times, before, at 15 and at 30 days after the start of oral prednisone, 1 mg/kg/day, during 7 days. We assessed the agreement rate among the experts, using Kappa for statistic analysis. Results: The three methods were reproducible, and the method hereby proposed had the least agreement among the examiners. Conclusions: the three-dimensional staging system proposed proved reproducible, despite showing less agreement among the examiners than the other as the other two methods.
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