What Is The Best Diagnostic Process For Sinusitis?
As reported, sinusitis is one of the most common problems in the United States among the people. If the sinusitis is not in a complicated state, then you do not need radiologic imagery. Keep in mind that plain radiography does not help the patients much to manage sinusitis.
According to the researches, complete opacification of a sinus can be seen in 60 percent of cases. A doctor may recommend you to do a CT scan as the images may clear nasal anatomy precisely. Doctors recommend doing a CT to define anatomy prior to sinus surgery. Keep in mind that NRI or magnetic resonance imaging does not show the bony anatomy as well as CT. MRI can only differentiate soft-tissue structures.
People who are immunocompromised or smoke a lot, have a higher risk of increasing serious sinusitis complications. If you experience a sinusitis problem for a few months, then contact a specialist for acute sinusitis treatment.
Plain Radiography
If you suffer from acute sinusitis along with mucosal thickening, then the expert may recommend plain radiography to diagnose the problem in detail. The procedure or test can find out about the level of air-fluid, mucosal thickening and complete opacification of the involved sinus. As reported, the doctors notice mucosal thickening in 90 percent of sinusitis cases. Infants who are less than three years old are not suitable for radiography tests due to their undeveloped sinuses. Plain radiographs also have other limitations such as it cannot differentiate easily between infection, polyp and tumor and has poor visualization of ethmoid air spaces.
CT Scan
Doctors recommend a CT scan if you are in an advanced stage of sinusitis. CT scans provide doctors various detailed information about the abnormalities and anatomy of the paranasal sinuses compared to plain radiography. This test can detect various important things such as sinus pathology.
Primary CT scans are used to treat chronic sinusitis. It also helps the doctor to define the anatomy of the sinuses prior to surgery. In many institutions, the cost of a CT scan is almost the same as a full radiographic series but it provides much more information.
MRI
If the doctors want to know the structure of soft tissue within the sinuses, then they may recommend doing an MRI. They want an MRI test if they suspect that the patient has fungal sinusitis. Other than that, there are no more advantages of MRI compared to CT scanning in the evaluation of sinusitis. The test takes a longer time than a CT scan and patients who suffer from claustrophobia may face difficulties while doing MRI.
Keep Trust in Us
Do you still have doubts about radiologic imaging? Contact Oklahoma Otolaryngology Associates, LLC for getting acute sinusitis treatment. They will help you to go through the treatment and clear all your doubts by answering the questions.
**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctor's advice, nor does it create any form of patient-doctor relationship.