The following are the most important diseases or complications that can be caused by acute sinusitis (inflammation of the nasal sinuses/inflammation of the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses)/rhinosinusitis (simultaneous inflammation of the nasal mucosa (“rhinitis”) and inflammation of the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses (“sinusitis”)):
Respiratory System (J00-J99)
- Bronchial asthma (risk factor: chronic rhinosinusitis).
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS, simultaneous inflammation of the nasal mucosa (“rhinitis”) and the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses/sinusitis).
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (risk factor: chronic rhinosinusitis).
- Nasal obstruction (obstruction of nasal breathing).
Eyes and eye appendages (H00-H59).
- Eye pain
- Orbital (“eye socket-related”) complications , which are classified into five groups (= Chandler criteria):
- Preseptal cellulitis (eyelid edema/eyelid swelling, erythema/redness of the skin).
- Orbital cellulitis (eyelid edema and erythema as well as marked proptosis (propelled eyeball) and chemosis (swelling (edema) of the conjunctiva); painful reaction with double vision).
- Subperiosteal abscess (accumulation of pus between periorbita and lamina papyracea, thereby shifting the orbital contents usually downward and outward; proptosis and chemosis with bulbar motility disorder).
- Orbital abscess (pus spread in the orbital fat tissue, thereby causing severe exophthalmos (pathological protrusion of the eyeball from the orbit) and severe chemosis).
- Sinus cavernosus thrombosis (occurrence of blood clots (thrombosis) in the large collecting veins of the brain (venous sinus) – as a result of the severe orbital complications; leads to massive orbital pain associated with proptosis and chemosis of the eye)
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).
- Bony complications:
- Frontal bone osteomyelitis (bony inflammation in the area of the frontal bone) – usually in the context of frontal sinusitis; pericranial and periorbital as well as intracranial complications also occur in approximately 60% of cases
Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).
- Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (tumors of the nasopharynx (nose and throat)); patients with allergic rhinitis (allergic rhinitis) and chronic rhinosinusitis (concurrent presence of rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucosa) and sinusitis (sinusitis)) had a similarly high risk of disease (OR 2.29 and 2.70, respectively)
Psyche – Nervous System (F00-F99; G00-G99).
- Anxiety disorders*
- Depression*
- Intracranial (“inside the brain”) complications:
- Meningitis (meningitis).
- Epidural abscess (collection of pus between the cranial dome and the dura mater/hard meninges) – usually in the context of frontal sinusitis
- Subdural abscess (collection of pus below under the dura mater) – usually in the context of ethmoidal and frontal sinusitis.
- Intracerebral abscess (brain abscess; encapsulated collection of pus in the brain).
- Sinus cavernosus thrombosis (occurrence of blood clots (thrombosis) in the large collecting veins of the brain (venous sinus) – as retrograde thrombophlebitis (acute thrombosis and inflammation of superficial veins) starting from the sinusitis frontalis; also occurring in the context of sinusitis sphenoidalis
- Facial pain
- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) – characterized by obstruction (narrowing) or complete closure of the upper airway during sleep; most common form of sleep apnea (90% of cases); occurs in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
* The adjusted hazard ratio (probability) for the development of depression and anxiety was higher in the group with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps than in patients with nasal polyps. Symptoms and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings Not Classified Elsewhere (R00-R99).
- Anterior and/or posterior secretion or purulent rhinorrhea (discolored secretion).
- Dysosmia (olfactory disorder)
Prognostic factors
- Children
- Elderly people
- Immunodeficiency
