COINCIDENTAL FINDINGS OF PARA NASAL SINUS PATHOLOGY IN PATIENT REQUESTED BRAIN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FOR HEADACHE

Volume 12 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , Pages 239-245

Authors

Sana Mohammed Sardar 1 ; Salah Mohammed Fateh 2

1 Kurdistan Board Candidate, Radiology and Medical Imaging Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specialties, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

2 College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

DOI logo 10.17656/jsmc.10366

Keywords

Abstract

Background
Headache is a ubiquitous symptom, for which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the primary modality of
choice to investigate its underlying causes. Two categories of headache have been well known” primary versus
secondary types. Sinus pathology, including sinusitis, is a well-recognized cause of secondary headaches.
Objectives
A retrospective study was conducted to find the incidence of sinus abnormalities in brain MRI patients
presenting with headaches, compare the prevalence of sinus abnormalities versus other structural brain
abnormalities at the brain MRI, and categorize the sinus abnormalities into significant and non-significant
sinus involvement. In which significant sinus abnormalities might be the cause of headaches.
Methods
A retrospective study at the Sulaymaniyah teaching hospital selected data from brain MRIs of patients with
headaches clinically, which were documented on their request paper. First, a Sum of 402 patients (males 157
and females 245) of age (mean age of 40 years) were included in the study from 2021-2022. Patients were
grouped according to their imaging findings and specifically sinus abnormality. All statistical analyses were
performed on a personal computer with SPSS for Windows (version 27) software.
Results
Four hundred and two cases during 12 months were reviewed; two hundred forty-five patients (60.9%) were
female, and one hundred fifty-seven patients (39.1%) were male. Their ages varied from 14 years to 86 years.
Approximately 50% of all patients are between the ages of 31 and 50. Sinus abnormalities were the most
frequent group (40%), including significant sinus abnormalities of (19,9%), followed by normal brain MR
findings (27.8%).
Conclusion
The majority of patients suffering from headaches have sinus abnormalities on the brain MRI, in which near
half of these abnormalities were significant findings, and the second most common imaging findings were
normal brain imaging, which was more than the significant sinus abnormalities from here it is advisable for a
better revision for the indication of brain MRI in headache, and as a consequence multidisciplinary evaluation
of patients with headache should be introduced at an early stage. The team should include a headache specialist
and a rhinologist to avoid unnecessary investigations. The significant sinus findings contribute to a substantial
number of patients suffering from headaches, thus suggesting the inclusion of sinus findings as a regular part
of the radiological reporting template.

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  • Published at21 September 2022

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