Silent sinus syndrome: potentially misleading features that should be recognized

Post-traumatic Sinus Syndrome, Proposal for a New Clinical Entity (CDR Syndrome) as Variant of the Silent Sinus Syndrome: Systematic Review and Case Series

The diagnostic criteria for silent sinus syndrome (SSS) are still controversial, especially for the post-traumatic/surgery cases that are, nowadays, excluded from the diagnosis of SSS because lacking of spontaneously. We present a systematic review of the last 10 years and our case series of SSS associated to previous trauma/surgery, proposing a new interpretation of SSS. In this work, following the PRISMA guide lines for systematic reviews, we collected 86 articles published on PubMed, Cochrane Library and Medline Plus since 2013 to 2023 about SSS. We divided them in six groups forming the structure of the review: (1) epidemiology, (2) clinical presentation, (3) imaging, (4) etiopathogenesis, (5) sss and craniofacial trauma and (6) treatment. We reported two explicative clinical cases: two men of 34 and 37 years old, involved in motorcycle accident in 2020 and 2014, respectively, and underwent surgery. They came back in 2023 referring diplopia documented by Hess-Lancaster test. CT-scan reported two clear cases of SSS. Basing on what is reported in literature, and basing on our experience, the post-traumatic/surgery SSS are more frequent than the idiopathic ones. Our proposal is to considered them as two individual entities. We propose to adopt the name of Post-traumatic sinus syndrome, or CDR syndrome (Catalfamo-De Rinaldis), for all cases that respect four specific diagnostic criteria reported into the text.

Nonneurologic causes of binocular diplopia for the neurologist

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review several etiologies of nonneurologic diplopia that the neurologist should be familiar with. The pathophysiology, clinical presentation, neuroimaging findings, and treatment options are briefly summarized for each condition.

RECENT FINDINGS

Certain etiologies for diplopia can be associated with life-threatening neurologic conditions and should be investigated thoroughly for proper localization and immediate management of the underlying disease. However, nonneurological causes of binocular diplopia are very common and disabling, but are often nonemergent and may not require in-depth investigation or neuroimaging. Some of the etiologies of nonneurologic diplopia mimic cranial nerve palsies, making them confusing to evaluate when the physician is not familiar with these etiologies. Unfamiliarity with these diagnoses can lead to unnecessary neuroimaging, inefficient utilization of medical resources, and undue alarm to the patient. Recent advances in clinical diagnostic tools and neuroimaging have clarified our understanding of the diverse underlying mechanisms of nonneurologic binocular diplopia.

SUMMARY

Diplopia can be a difficult symptom for the neurologist to evaluate. A systematic approach to the evaluation of diplopia can help establish the urgency and necessity of an extensive workup.This review will help to familiarize the neurologist with nonneurological causes of binocular diplopia, minimize expensive and unnecessary evaluations, and reassure patients and physicians alike.

Anatomical Changes in a Case with Asymmetrical Bilateral Maxillary Sinus Hypoplasia

Background and Objectives: The maxillary sinus hypoplasia (MSH) is an occasional variation of the maxilla, occurring either unilaterally or bilaterally. Previous studies dealing with MSH have not detailed the consequent anatomical changes of the maxilla and adjacent fossae. Materials and Methods: A 58-year-old female case was scanned in Cone Beam Computed Tomography and found to have asymmetrical bilateral MSH, who was then further evaluated anatomically. Results: The maxillary sinuses were hypoplastic and had mild mucosal thickenings. The orbital floors were curved. The uncinate process and the ethmoidal infundibulum were laterally displaced beneath the orbit floor. On each side, the lateral nasal wall protruded within the respective maxillary bone to reach above the vestibular cortical plate of the alveolar process. This expansion of the lateral nasal walls was limited to the premolar and first molar regions. The inferior turbinates were laterally curved. The perpendicular palatine plate was building a postero-lateral nasal wall in front of the pterygopalatine fossa. Conclusions: The classification systems of MSH should be detailed to indicate whether the normal uncinate process is medial or inferior to the orbit. The lateral expansion of the lateral nasal wall in MSH is limited to the anterior part of that wall. The laterally expanded nasal fossa could reach anterior to the pterygopalatine fossa in MSH. Seemingly, CBCT is a better tool than CT to evaluate the detailed anatomy of the modified anatomical structures in MSH; as such, it could be of help in a surgical approach.