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Wk 7, Case 2 - Review

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So this was a case of, uh,

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mucosal thickening involving multiple perinasal sinuses.

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So here I think you can see, you can see the screen share,

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you can see that there's, um, expansion of the perinasal sinuses,

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and there's also some increased attenuation within the perinasal sinuses.

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So this could be a couple of things. You know,

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this could either be sinus disease with multiple desiccated secretions,

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or, um, in this particular case,

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if you have multiple sinuses involved and there's increased attenuation,

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and this is what this disease entity is known as,

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is allergic fungal sinusitis.

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So this is an example of allergic fungal sinusitis.

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So these are all examples of this.

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So the key thing to make the diagnosis is that you see opacification of

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multiple perinasal sinuses, and we can also see increased attenuation, uh,

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within the sinuses as well too. So, um,

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here we can see opacification,

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the ethmoids and the sphenoid sinuses and the increased attenuation within them.

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So, um, the key thing is it's a non-contrast ct. Another example here,

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this patient came in with a possible rhabdomyosarcoma.

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This is back when I was at U N C, so everyone was worried about it.

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But then because this was a non-contrast ct,

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and we can see expansion of the perinasal sinus is the increased in the

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increased attenuation. Then again,

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this is characteristic of allergic fungal sinusitis,

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and I believe I sent you a paper we wrote many years ago on allergic fungal

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sinusitis that, um,

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commented on the characteristic imaging findings. So, um,

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these are typically treated with, uh, surgical resection,

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usually through functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Um,

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the classical appearances like this toothpaste or peanut butter consistency

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of these lesions.

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And oftentimes they're treated with some type of antifungal therapy,

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but it's not the, this is not, um, invasive fungal sinusitis.

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So this is not the typical mucor mycosis that you see. Rather,

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this is more of a benign indolent form,

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and the type of antifungal therapy is something like ketoconazole

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and steroids. So it's nothing super aggressive.

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So this was a diagnosis of, um, allergic fungal sinusitis.

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So I can stop there and, um, you know, happy to take any questions on,

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on this case.

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So the key imaging features is the thinning of the bone

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with high attenuating content,

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Right? So multiple sinus involved expansion of the sinuses and high attenuation.

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So for the invasive fungal sinusitis,

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we look for any increased fat stranding and any soft tissue around the

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sinus. Outside the sinus,

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Yes, exactly. Especially in patients that are at risk.

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So I can share that with you as well too.

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So this is the invasive fungal sinusitis. So, or in early on, it's,

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you really can't tell the difference between invasive fungal sinusitis and

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non-invasive fungal sinusitis. But in patients at risk,

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this is what you look for. You could see this abnormal soft tissue in this case,

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involving the canine fossa and the tego palatine fossa. And then on Mr,

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this is the classical appearance here.

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You can see there's obliteration of fat here in the tego, palatine fossa.

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And then another example here. This is abnormal soft tissue here,

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abnormal soft tissue here, there's no bone erosion. Another example here,

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see the soft tissue here, see the soft tissue there.

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And then eventually this thing just continues to grow and grow and grow.

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So there's a little bit of soft tissue here.

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You don't see it on the opposite side. This was a patient at risk.

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And then this can progress just completely erode the, the sinus here.

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It's extending into the tgal, palatine, vasa,

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and then another example here, a little bit of soft tissue anteriorly,

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and they can just continue to progress. Does that make sense for you?

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Yes. So it is, uh, allergic fungal sinusitis is a precursor for invasive,

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if not treated well.

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No, no. Allergic fungal sinusitis is completely different than invasive fung.

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Different,

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Okay.

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Yeah. Completely different. Yeah. They, although they can be caused by the same,

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um, bugs, if you will, they can be, uh, caused by the same,

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uh, elements, uh, like aspergillus and mucor, et cetera.

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It's a non-invasive form, and the body can,

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it'll can elicit a host response to it.

Report

Patient History
Sinusitis.

Findings
There is diffuse opacification of the right nasal cavity extending superiorly to involve the right ethmoid air cells and extending posteriorly to involve the right sphenoethmoidal recess and extending into the right sphenoid sinus. There are multiple areas of increased attenuation within this abnormality. This is associated with expansion of the ethmoid sinuses with mild regressive remodeling of the posterior aspect of the right lamina papyracea and leftward deviation of the superior nasal septum. There is enlargement of the right sphenoethmoidal recess.

Hypoplastic right maxillary sinus with near complete opacification. Mild increased attenuation which could be due to superimposed fungal colonization. Mucosal thickening involving alveolar recess left maxillary sinus.

Imaging of the anterior skull base shows no evidence of aggressive lesions eroding the anterior skull base. No evidence of encephalocele. Cribriform plate is intact.

Visualized portion of the brain shows prominence of the sulci and ventricles. However, dedicated brain imaging is necessary for complete diagnostic evaluation.

Conclusions
1. Diffuse mucosal thickening associated with increased attenuation and regressive remodeling and expansion of the involved paranasal sinuses most consistent with allergic fungal sinusitis involving the nasal cavity, right ethmoid sinus and right sphenoid sinus.
2. Near complete opacification of a hypoplastic right maxillary sinus that is likely due to chronic polypoid mucosal thickening.

Case Discussion

Faculty

David M Yousem, MD, MBA

Professor of Radiology, Vice Chairman and Associate Dean

Johns Hopkins University

Suresh K Mukherji, MD, FACR, MBA

Clinical Professor, University of Illinois & Rutgers University. Faculty, Michigan State University. Director Head & Neck Radiology, ProScan Imaging

Tags

Neuroradiology

Head and Neck

CT