Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about sinusitis. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com

slash sinusitis or in the ear, nose and throat section of the zero definals surgery book.

So let's get straight into it.

Sinocitis refers to inflammation of the paranasal sinuses in the face.

This is usually accompanied by inflammation of the nasal cavity inside the nose, and it can be referred to as rhino sinusitis, rhino referring to nose.

Sinocitis is very common.

Sinocitis can be classified as acute sinusitis lasting less than 12 weeks or chronic sinusitis, which lasts

more than 12 weeks. Let's talk about some basic anatomy. The paranasal sinuses are hollow spaces

within the bones of the face, arranged symmetrically around the nasal cavity.

They produce mucus and they drain into the nasal cavities via holes which are called ostea.

Blockage of the ostea prevents the drainage of the sinuses and this results in sinusitis.

There are four sets of paranasal sinuses.

The frontal sinuses which are above the eyebrows, the maxillary sinuses which are either side of the nose below the eyes, the ethmoid sinuses which are in the ethmoid bone which is in the middle of the nasal cavity,

and the svenoid sinuses, which are in the svenoid bone at the back of the nasal cavity.

Let's talk about the causes.

Inflammation of the sinuses can be caused by infection,

particularly following viral upper respiratory tract infections.

Allergies, for example hay fever, where the patient is likely to have allergic rhinitis, or inflammation in the nose related to the allergy.

Obstruction of drainage of the sinus, for example, due to a foreign body that's got

up the nose, trauma or polyps inside the nose, or smoking. Patients with asthma are more likely

to suffer with sinusitis. Next let's talk about the presentation.

...