Could we prevent unilateral cleft lip/palate in the future?

International study of the incidence of particular types of septal deformities in chronic rhinosinusitis patients: the outcomes from five countries

BACKGROUND

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) may be more frequent in patients with particular types of septal deformities. The aim of this article was to investigate the incidence of particular types of septal deformities in adult CRS patients and healthy volunteers in various countries to determine whether some of them are more frequent in those groups.

METHODS

This international multicentric study involved 505 subjects from five countries: Croatia, Romania, Italy, Russia, and Turkey. The types of septal deformities were observed and grouped according to the Mladina classification. Subjects were examined by means of native anterior rhinoscopy, anterior rhinoscopy after decongestion, and fiber endoscopy with topical anesthesia. CRS patients have been diagnostically proved by computed tomography scanning of the paranasal sinuses.

RESULTS

Considering the CRS patients, the prevalence of so-called vertical deformities (types 2, 3, and 4) was seen. Among them, type 3 deformity was found most frequently in Turkey, Croatia, Italy, and Romania.

CONCLUSION

Type 3 deformity has been found frequently in CRS patients in all five of the countries. Russian subjects exhibited a high frequency of type 4 deformity. Because this type consists of types 2 and 3, the later, again, has been proven to be prevalent in CRS patients also in this group of patients.

Clinical Implications of Nasal Septal Deformities

The first attempts to systematize septal distortions have been given by Cottle who defined four groups of septal deformities: subluxation, large spurs, caudal deflection and tension septum. Fortunately, the variations of the septal deformities show a certain order, thus enabling more precise classification. Mladina was the first to make user-friendly classification of septal deformities in six basic types. He also described the seventh type, named "Passali deformity", which presents individually, but is always a well-defined combination between some of the previous six types. Mladina types of septal deformities (SD) are divided in two main groups: so called "vertical" deformities (types 1, 2, 3 and 4), and "horizontal" ones (types 5 and 6). This classification was immediately well accepted by rhinologists worldwide and started to be cited from the very beginning. Since then it has been continuously cited increasingly more often, thus making Mladina classification a gold standard whenever clinical researches on nasal septum are concerned. More than forty clinical studies based on this classification have been performed to date. It is extremely important to make a strict distinction between the types of SD since all of them play some specific role in the nasal and general physiology in man.