Abstract
A prospective comparison of nasal cytology with sinus x-rays in 55 patients (35 children and 20 adults) with suspected sinusitis was performed. A sample of the nasal mucosa from the inferior turbinate was obtained with a Rhinoprobe, fixed, and stained with modified Wright-Giemsa. The radiologist and the cytologist were unaware of each other's findings. The x-ray report was considered positive if there was mucoperiosteal thickening, asymmetry, opacification, or air-fluid levels. The cytology report was positive if there was greater than 1 neutrophil per high power field with bacteria present. There was a 79% correlation between the sinus x-rays and nasal cytology reports. Specificity was 0.79 and sensitivity 0.79. When the cytology report was positive with greater than 6 neutrophils per high power field, the x-ray was positive 90% of the time. Two sinus x-rays were uninterpretable by the radiologists. These data indicate that nasal cytology is a safe, noninvasive and useful adjunct in the diagnosis of sinusitis in both adults and children.
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