The Role of the Nasal and Paranasal Sinus Pathologies on the Development of Chronic Otitis Media and its Subtypes: A Computed Tomography Study

Objective: This objective of this study is to evaluate the presence and the coincidence of common nasal and paranasal sinus pathologies in adults suffering from chronic otitis media (COM) and its subtypes. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised 354 ears of 177 patients who underwent tympanoplasty with or without mastoidectomy from January 2013 to February 2015 due to uni/bilateral COM. Chronic suppurative otitis media, intratympanic tympanosclerosis (ITTS), cholesteatoma, and tympanic membrane with retraction pockets constituted subtypes of COM. The control group consisted of 100 ears of 50 adult patients with aural diseases other than middle ear problems. All patients were evaluated for the evidence of mucosal disease on paranasal sinuses, the presence of concha bullosa (CB), and the angle of nasal septal deviation (NSD) and thickness of the medial mucosa of the inferior turbinate were measured by coronal computed tomography images. Results: The incidence and the angle of NSD were found significantly higher in patients with COM (P = 0.028, P = 0.018; respectively). When ears with unilateral and bilateral COM compared in term of sinonasal pathologies, CB was found higher in patients with unilateral COM (P = 0.040). The presence of CB was significantly higher in ITTS when compared to other subtypes (P = 0.028). Conclusions: Our study suggests that obstructive nasal pathologies such as NSD and CB may play a role in the pathogenesis of especially unilateral COM. However, there was no correlation between COM and inflammatory pathologies such as sinusitis.