The sphenoiditis spectrum.

This retrospective, comparative study involves 13 patients with sphenoiditis from 2 specialist centres: the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, Gray's Inn Road (7 patients) and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen's Square (6 patients). It was found that the ENT patients had a very much longer history, had more nasal symptoms, and suffered none of the neurological complications attributable to the disease. All the neurological patients presented with a complication after a comparatively short history and had few nasal symptoms. One ENT patient was found to have a mucopyocoele, whereas 5 were found in the neurological patients, all of whom had bony deficiencies demonstrated by radiology and at surgery. Once diagnosed and treated the ENT patients all made full recoveries while 3 of the neurological patients remain with sequelae of the disease. Our study suggests that dehiscences of the surrounding bone increase the risk of potentially serious intracranial problems from sphenoiditis, whereas the chronicity of symptoms is of secondary importance.