The detection of lesions of the paranasal sinuses as incidental findings during magnetic resonance imaging of patients suspected of intracranial disease who have no nasal symptoms has been far more common than we expected. The present study was performed on 325 patients a mean age of 60.7 years. Medical histories were taken whether they had any nasal symptoms or not. Asymptomatic sinus disease was present in 41.6% of the 257 patients who had no nasal symptoms, and 9.7% of the patients had either marked mucosal thickening, excessive fluid or polyps in the maxillary sinuses. Although the mean age of these patients was comparatively high, we can infer that 1 in 10 have relatively severe sinus lesions. Mucociliary transport time was measured using the saccharin method in 15 patients who had sinus disease but no nasal symptoms. The mean transport time was 15.6 minutes and within normal limits. Routine ENT examination revealed no lesions in the nasal cavity of any of the subjects.
We classified the patients with asymptomatic sinus disease into two groups; group A: patients with sinus disease associated with some nasal manifestations but who do not complain about them, group B: patients who have sinus disease but do not have any nasal problems. Group B represents genuine asymptomatic sinus disease in the narrow sense. Most asymptomatic patients in this study appeared to belong to group B. They had some sinus disease, but because their mucociliary function in their nasal cavity was normal, they did not have any nasal symptoms. When we find patients with asymptomatic sinus disease, we have to determine which group they belong to by examining their nasal cavity and measuring their saccharin time. Patients in group A should be medically treated, but those in group B should be followed without medical treatment.
