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Sinus XRayAka: Waters' View XRay, Occipitomental XRay, Caldwell-Luc XRay

See Also
1. Sinusitis
2. Sinus CT
Indication (Sinus CT preferred)
1. Evaluation of Suspected Chronic Sinusitis
2. Evaluation of Acute Sinusitis:
  1. Persistent symptoms despite adequate treatment
  2. High risk patients
    1. Diabetes Mellitus
    2. Immunosuppressive drugs
  3. Suspected involvement in multiple paranasal sinuses
Contraindications (Relative)
1. Ethmoid or sphenoid Sinusitis
2. Age under 3 years
  1. Undeveloped sinuses
  2. High false positive opacification rate
Views
1. Maxillary: Waters' View (Occipitomental XRay)
  1. This alone is usually sufficient
2. Frontal: Caldwell-Luc
Findings suggestive of Sinusitis
1. Opacification (Only 36-66% sensitive)
2. Air fluid levels
3. Mucosa more than 8 mm thick (non-specific)
Efficacy in Acute Sinusitis
1. Test Sensitivity: 76%
2. Test Specificity: 79%
References
1. Okuyemi (2000) Am Fam Physician 66(10):1882

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.