Extrasinonasal infiltrative process associated with a sinonasal fungus ball: does it mean invasive fungal sinusitis?
PDF
Cite
Share
Request
Head and Neck Imaging - Original Article
P: 347-353
July 2016

Extrasinonasal infiltrative process associated with a sinonasal fungus ball: does it mean invasive fungal sinusitis?

Diagn Interv Radiol 2016;22(4):347-353
1. Department of Radiology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
3. Department of Radiology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea; Department of Radiology, Hanyang University Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
No information available.
No information available
Received Date: 16.09.2015
Accepted Date: 06.12.2015
PDF
Cite
Share
Request

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:

Invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS) has rarely been reported to develop from non-IFS. The purpose of this study was to disclose the nature of the extrasinonasal infiltrative process in the presence of a sinonasal fungus ball (FB).

METHODS:

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, computed tomography, magnetic resonance images of 13 patients with sinonasal FB and the extrasinonasal infiltrative process. Based on histology and clinical course, we divided the extrasinonasal infiltrative process into IFS and the nonfungal inflammatory/infectious process (NFIP). The images were analyzed with particular attention to the presence of cervicofacial tissue infarction (CFTI).

RESULTS:

Of the 13 patients, IFS was confirmed in only one, while the remaining 12 were diagnosed to have presumed NFIP. One patient with IFS died shortly after diagnosis. In contrast, all 12 patients with presumed NFIP, except one, survived during a mean follow-up of 17 months. FB was located in the maxillary sinus (n=4), sphenoid sinus (n=8), and both sinuses (n=1). Bone defect was found in five patients, of whom four had a defect in the sphenoid sinus. Various sites were involved in the extrasinonasal infiltrative process, including the orbit (n=10), intracranial cavity (n=9), and soft tissues of the face and neck (n=7). CFTI was recognized only in one patient with IFS.

CONCLUSION:

In most cases, the extrasinonasal infiltrative process in the presence of sinonasal FB did not seem to be caused by IFS but probably by NFIP. In our study, there were more cases of invasive changes with the sphenoid than with the maxillary FB.