Clinical, Radiological, and Histopathological Patterns of Allergic Fungal Sinusitis: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Objectives To explore the clinical, pathological, and imaging characteristics of allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) and to analyze the correlation of disease duration with imaging and histopathology findings. Methods We reviewed all cases of AFS managed at the otorhinolaryngology department of King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Demographic and clinical features were collected, as well as imaging and histopathological findings, which were analyzed by time from onset. Results Forty-six patients were diagnosed AFS, representing 11.8% of total sinusitis cases; 25 (54.3%) were female, with mean (SD) age=33.57 (11.76). Patients presented with multiple symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (43, 93.5%), chronic headache (14, 30.4%), and hyposmia (2, 4.3%), and 36 (78.3%) were diagnosed late (≥5 years after onset). AFS involved all four sinuses in 32 (69.6%) patients and was bilateral in >53.5% of infected sinuses. Imaging showed increased intrasinus attenuation (88.2%-95.3%), complete opacification (74.4%-85.3%), sinus expansion (35.3%-51.2%), remodeling (20.6%-37.2%), wall thinning (41.2%-58.1%), and involvement of adjacent soft tissue (11.8%-25.6%), depending on the sinus type. Histology evidenced eosinophilic mucin (45.7%), eosinophils (91.3%), fungal hyphae (93.5%), and Charcot-Leyden crystals (6.5%). Patients who were diagnosed late had a higher percentage of imaging and pathological lesions, principally, the expansion and wall thinning of involved sinuses (p<0.050). Conclusion AFS represents a significant proportion of chronic sinusitis cases treated in the otorhinolaryngology department and is often diagnosed late with extensive forms. Major efforts should be made to improve the early diagnosis and management of such disease, including raising awareness about this entity among general practitioners and family physicians to enhance clinical suspicion and detection rate.