Sino-Nasal Anatomical Variations in Rhinogenic Headache Pathogenesis

Rhinogenic headache (RH) is a widespread pain syndrome but its pathogenesis and treatment are still unclear. Some authors recognize a correlation between RH and mucosal contact points or some other sinonasal anatomical variations. The authors conducted a retrospective case–control study to analyze the correlation between radiological findings and clinical symptoms. One hundred-nineteen adults with Para-Nasal Sinuses Computed Tomography (PNS-CT) scans were included: 64 patients who have originally undergone PNS-CT scan as part of rhinogenic headache workup (Group A), and 55 controls in whom PNS-CT scans were obtained for other purposes (Group B). All subjects were asked to report their symptoms using a headache scoring system. PNS-CT scans of all subjects were analyzed for presence of mucosal contact points, middle turbinate concha bullosa (MTCB) and frontoethmoidal cells. The most common anatomical abnormality found in our series was MTCB, reported in 60.9% of patients in Group A and 41.8% of those in Group B. A statistically significant prevalence was found in Group A compared to Group B regarding the presence of MTCB (P = 0.037) and Type II (P = 0.016) and Type III (P = 0.039) frontoethmoidal cells. No statistically significant difference (P >0.05) was found between Group A and Group B regarding the presence of mucosal contact points at each site. Multiple anatomical variations in nasal and paranasal sinuses may cause a rhinogenic headache with different ...
Source: Journal of Craniofacial Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: Clinical Studies Source Type: research