[The combined application of thermography and local thermometry for diagnostics, prognostication, modeling, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the treatment of acute sinusitis].

The objective of the present work was to study the possibilities of the combined application of thermography and local thermometry for diagnostics of acute sinusitis, characteristic of dynamics of the clinical course of this pathology, and evaluation of the effectiveness of its treatment. The study included 23 patients presenting with acute rhinosinusitis and 21 ones free from pathology of paranasal sinuses. Contact thermometry was performed with the use of the electronic thermometer applied to the anterior surface of the inferior turbinated bone. An infrared thermovision camera was employed to carry out thermographic measurements. The study demonstrated variations in endonasal and surface temperature under effect of the treatment. Positive dynamics of the patients' conditions was manifested as a drop of endonasal temperature and relatively constant surface temperature. A rise in the surface temperature was associated with the pathological process. In the patients showing slightly positive dynamics of the disease, the surface temperature on the side of the pathological process was lower than on the unaffected side. This difference was interpreted as an indication of the reduced microcirculatory activity in this region. It was hypothesized that dynamics of the inflammatory process is to a large extent determined by the character of blood circulation in the affected region. The authors conclude that the combined application of thermometry and thermography not only improves the quality of diagnostics of acute rhinosinusitis but also facilitates the evaluation of its dynamics and the effectiveness of the treatment.