International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | January-February 2019 | Vol 5 | Issue 1 Page 1 International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Babu GR et al. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Jan;5(1):xxx-xxx http://www.ijorl.com pISSN 2454-5929 | eISSN 2454-5937 Original Research Article Correlation of anatomical variations in chronic sinusitis with diagnostic nasal endoscopy and CT scan of paranasal sinuses: an observational study G. Ramesh Babu, G. Ravi Kumar*, V. Krishna Chaitanya INTRODUCTION Chronic sinusitis is the chronic inflammation of mucous membrane of nose and one or more of paranasal sinuses. In the early life during fetal development, the paranasal sinuses originate as invagination of the nasal mucosa into the lateral nasal wall, frontal, ethmoid, maxilla and the sphenoid bones. This unique development explains the enormous amount of anatomical variation. 1 Drainage and ventilation of paranasal sinuses are important for the normal function which in turn depends on effective mucociliary clearance. 2 Patency of the pathways through which the sinuses drain is crucial of adequate mucociliary function and subsequent sinus drainage. Osteomeatal complex obstruction may lead to fluid accumulation and stagnation, creating a moist, hypoxemic environment ideal for growth of pathogens. 3 ABSTRACT Background: Drainage and ventilation of paranasal sinuses are important for normal function which depends on effective mucociliary clearance. In present study we tried to emphasize variations in lateral wall of nose and clinical features leading to nose and paranasal sinus disease using diagnostic nasal endoscopy and variations in CT scan of paranasal sinuses. The objectives of the study are to observe various anatomical variations in nose and paranasal sinuses and their clinical presentation using diagnostic nasal endoscopy and CT scan of paranasal sinuses and to compare various anatomical variations in nose and paranasal sinuses. Methods: Present study included 54 patients presenting in Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, during February 2015 to February 2017. Results: Diagnostic nasal endoscopy findings reveal that most common finding was polypoidal changes in nasal mucosa in 36 (66.67%) of patients, followed by mucopurulent discharge in 26 (48.14%), postnasal discharge in 20(37.03%) and 4 (7.40%) patients showed prominent agger nasi cell. CT scan of paranasal sinuses revealed multiple sinus involvement in 41 (75.92%) of patients with partial involvement of sinuses. Complete sinus opacification with pan sinusitis was observed in 9 (16.67%), blockade at osteomeatal complex was observed in 46 (85.18%), paradoxical middle turbinate was observed in 5 (9.25%), Concha bullosa was observed in 12 (22.23%) of patients. Conclusions: Each variation have an anatomic and surgical significance, hence each and every case should be individually studied in detail before undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery to maximize patient benefit and to prevent unnecessary complications. Diagnostic nasal endoscopic examination is clinical guide to evaluate disease. Keywords: Paranasal sinus diseases, CT scan para nasal sinus, Endoscopic sinus surgery Department of ENT, Narayana Medical College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India Received: 16 October 2018 Revised: 31 October 2018 Accepted: 02 November 2018 *Correspondence: Dr. G. Ravi Kumar, E-mail: drvkc17@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20184723