Clinical progression of incidental tomographic findings in paranasal sinuses of asymptomatic individuals: Cohort study

Objective: to determine whether the presence of opacification in the paranasal sinuses of children and adolescents without rhinosinusitis implies an increased risk of later development of upper respiratory tract symptoms. methods: this was a prospective study of a cohort of patients aged 0 to 18 years who underwent computerized tomography (ct) scans for indications unrelated to rhinosinusitis. sinus opacification was evaluated using an opacification/ development ratio score. the patients' clinical progression was followed up using a questionnaire for 1 month after the scans. results: fifty-six percent (56%) of the 106 patients enrolled in the study had opacity,the majority due to mucosal thickening. intense opacification was defined as suspected (score ≥ 15) and patients in this subset had a greater risk of developing symptoms during follow-up (odds ratio = 2.74; 95%ci 1.10-6.83) compared to those with no findings or discrete findings. conclusions: intense incidental sinus opacity on ct indicates a risk of future development of a clinical respiratory condition. copyright © 2011 by sociedade brasileira de pediatria.