Odontogenic Sinusitis: Clinical, Radiologic, and Quality-of-Life Characterization in a Prospective Study

Background Rhinosinusitis is an increasingly diagnosed condition which compromise the daily quality of life of the population and exerting a serious strain on public healthcare systems. Under the rhinosinusitis spectrum falls the odontogenic sinusitis, a predominantly unilateral rhinosinusitis, implicated in up to 75% of unilateral maxillary sinusitis cases. This study aimed to analyze the clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with odontogenic sinusitis and to determine how these findings relate to their quality of life. Methods Thirty-eight patients with unilateral sinusitis caused by dental pathology/treatment were recruited. OS diagnosis criteria were established according to EPOS-2020 guidelines. The 22-item SNOT-22 questionnaire was used to gauge symptom severity and social/emotional impact. In addition, all patients underwent CT imaging and were staged with the Lund-Mackay scale for involvement of the maxillary, anterior and posterior ethmoid, sphenoid and frontal sinuses. Results Smoking was associated with higher SNOT-22 scores (active smokers: 59.44 ± 18.29; non-smokers: 38.22 ± 22.29; p = 0.026). Younger patients reported a slightly lower symptom burden than older ones but had significantly more nasal obstruction (rho=–0.525; p < 0.001) and facial/otologic symptoms (rho=–0.328; p = 0.045). Patients with frontal and posterior ethmoid total opacification averaged 60.2 ± 11.1 (p = 0.039) and 68.5 ± 14.85 years (p = 0.018) respectively. Patients treated with ATB/Nasal-GCC showed a prolonged symptom duration (26.61 ± 16.79 and 30.67 ± 26,63 months respectively). Extra-maxillary involvement was observed in 71.1% of the patients. Purulence correlated with higher LM scores (7.77 ± 2.27 vs. 2.83 ± 1.75 without purulence, p < 0.001), longer symptom duration and a greater likelihood of extra-maxillary spread (92.3%, p < 0.001). Conclusions In this study, smokers and patients exhibiting purulent discharge experienced greater quality-of-life impairment and a more extensive extra-sinus spread. Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable.