Use of standard radiography to diagnose paranasal sinus disease of asthmatic children in Taiwan: comparison with computed tomography.

Paranasal sinus disease and bronchial asthma are frequently associated. Computed tomography imaging is currently the most reliable method for confirming the diagnosis of sinusitis. Due to the cost and amount of radiation during computed tomography, our aim was to analyze whether standard radiography, under computed tomography-control, had a reasonable degree of confidence in the diagnosis of sinusitis. Fifty-three asthmatic patients (42 males and 11 females) with a mean age of 9 years (range 4-14) were enrolled. We evaluated the maxillary sinuses, ethmoidal sinuses, frontal sinuses, and sphenoidal sinuses using standard radiography (Waters' view, Caldwell view, and lateral view) and compared with computed tomography (coronal views), the latter served as a standard. Computed tomography (CT) showed paranasal sinusitis in 58% (31/53) of the asthmatic children. Compared with the results of computed tomography, standard radiography revealed a sensitivity of 81.1% and a specificity of 72.7% for maxillary sinusitis. The sensitivity and specificity for ethmoidal, frontal, and sphenoidal sinusitis were 51.8%, 84.8%; 47.3%, 87.2%; and 40.8%, 93.3%, respectively. In 21 (40%) of the 53 patients, discrepancies were seen between the interpretations of standard radiography c and those of CT scans. In patients with maxillary sinusitis, the correlation between standard radiography and CT was good. However, ethmoidal, frontal, and sphenoidal sinusitis were poorly demonstrated using radiography. Standard radiography can be recommended as a screening method for maxillary sinusitis, but it is not recommended for the diagnosis of other paranasal sinusitis.