Background: The aim of the study was to determine whether degree of the nasal septum deviation (NSD) can affect the frequency of antral pseudocyst (AP) formation by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).
Materials and methods: This retrospective study was included 466 CBCT images. The NSD were categorised into four groups according to the degree: control group (no NSD, 0°-2°), group A (2°-9°), group B (9°-15°), and group C (≥ 15°). The predictor variables were demographic factors (patient's age and gender) and anatomic factors (different degrees of nasal septum angulation). The outcome variable was presence of AP.
Results: Of the 466 cases, 242 (51.9%) had no NSD, 66 (14.2%) had an angle of 2°-9°, 111 (23.8%) had an angle of 9°-15°, and 47 (10.1%) had an angle of over 15°. The prevalence of AP was 2.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37 to 3.03; p = 0.001) times higher in the presence of NSD. Significant increases in presence of AP occurred with NSD in group A (2.37 times higher; p = 0.003) and group B (2.07 times higher; p = 0.003) compared to control by univariate analysis.
Conclusions: Although there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that NSD is a definitive aetiological factor for AP development, our findings indicated that NSD increased the risk of AP formation.
Keywords: antral pseudocyst; deviation; nasal septum.