Correlation of the sinoscopic appearance of the maxillary antrum with histological and bacteriological findings

Abstract

AbstractAssessment of the maxillary antral mucosa in chronic sinusitis prior to surgery is notoriously difficult. Sinoscopy using a Hopkin's rod system is proving increasingly popular. The accuracy diagnosis of mucosal disease by this means in 26 antra is here correlated with histological evidence of inflammation and bacteriological evidence of infection in antral mucosal biopsies. It is shown that the surgeon's assessment of the mucosal appearance correlates well with the histology and bacterial culture. Absence of mucopus or bacterial growth on culture did not indicate absence of disease.