ANALYSIS OF PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE PARANASAL SINUSES USING CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

This prospective study aims to evaluate the prevalence of alterations in the paranasal sinuses using total cranial CBCT scans. A total of 100 CBCT scans were analyzed for the presence of mucoperiosteal thickening, sinusopathies, rhinosinusitis, polyps, bone lesions, and neoplasms in the maxillary sinuses, sphenoid sinus, and frontal sinus. The most frequent comorbidities were analyzed, as well as the most affected paranasal sinuses. Data were collected and evaluated for their normality patterns. The statistical test used was the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA with Dunn’s post-test, followed by a descriptive analysis of the data, using the BioEstat 5.0 program. The most frequent pathologies were mucoperiosteal thickening (41.0%), sinusopathy (31.0%), odontogenic sinusopathy (23.0%), and polyp formation (5.0%). The sinuses that showed the most alterations were the left maxillary, right maxillary, sphenoid, and frontal sinuses, respectively. Additionally, it was observed that, when evaluating the differences between the maxillary and frontal sinuses, there was a significant difference between them (p<0.05); however, no significant difference was found between the right maxillary, left maxillary, and sphenoid sinuses. This study concluded that mucoperiosteal thickening and sinusopathies are the most prevalent pathological findings, with cone beam computed tomography being a useful tool in assisting diagnosis, and the sphenoid sinuses showed the highest frequency of involvement.