Prevalence Of Chronic Rhinosinusitis At Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar Es Salaam

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects people of all ages worldwide and has significant socio-economic impact. Data on chronic rhinosinusitis are scarce.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of CRS among patients attending the Otorhinolaryngology Department at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).

Method: This was a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study where 56 patients with CRS were recruited from July to December 2015 after meeting the criteria set by American Academy of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS). Data were analysed using SPSS program version 21.

Results: The prevalence of CRS among 5321 patients was 1.07%; 51.8% were female and the highest proportion was aged 11-20 years. Bilaterality of disease was found in 62%. The maxillary sinus (83.9%) was the most affected sinus whilst the sphenoid sinus was least affected. There was good correlation between computerized tomography (CT) and intraoperative findings, anatomical variations and pathological features.

Conclusion: CRS appears to be less prevalent at MNH than elsewhere with a tendency to bilaterality and maxillary sinus predominance similar to other studies.