Abstract
Complications of sinusitis can be classified as local or systemic. Local complications are mostly due to the anatomical proximity of the sinuses to the surrounding structures. The orbit and the skull base are the most closely related structures to the paranasal sinuses as they share same bony margins. Complications generally occur when the infection spread to these areas due to anatomic proximity. Sinus infections can spread through the lamina papyracea. Ethmoidal sinuses are separated from the orbit by a thin bone layer called the lamina papyracea. Besides being thin, this lamina has congenital dehiscences and perforating vessels and nerves. Infections in ethmoidal sinuses can spread through the natural dehiscence of this layer into the orbit especially in children. The close neighborhood of the sinuses with the orbit is another way. The base of the frontal sinus forms the roof of the orbit. The frontal sinus may have bony dehiscences that form a route for the spread of the infections. Especially in adults infections of frontal sinuses can lead to orbital complications. Local complications of rhinosinusitis include mucocele, pre-septal cellulitis, orbital cellulitis, subperiosteal abscess, orbital abscess, osteomyelitis, meningitis, brain abscess, subdural empyema, and thrombosis of venous sinuses. They occur in approximately 5% of the patients who have been followed up for sinusitis. Complications of rhinosinusitis can be classified as orbital, intracranial or osseous.
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Erdem, D., Arıcıgil, M., Chua, D. (2020). Complications of Rhinosinusitis. In: Cingi, C., Bayar Muluk, N. (eds) All Around the Nose. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21217-9_26
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