Determination of the Lund-Mackay Score in the Asymptomatic Population: The Mean Lund Score in Children and Adults without Symptoms and Signs of Rhinosinusitis

Year 2025, Volume: 35 Issue: 3, 141 - 148, 25.09.2025

Orhan Asya , Yavuz Gündoğdu , Özlem Demircioğlu , Merve Uzun , Elmira Iskandarli , Fatmanur Atılgan , Ömer Faruk Kuyumcu , Rabia Nur Tok , E. Şeyma Karaketir

https://doi.org/10.26650/Tr-ENT.2025.1696251

Abstract

Objective: Computed tomography (CT) plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Among the CT-based staging systems, the Lund–Mackay score (LMS) exhibits a strong linear correlation between the nasal symptom severity and radiographic disease. This study aimed to determine the baseline (normal) LMS of patients without symptoms or signs of CRS. It also explored whether a measurable increase in the adenoid thickness to nasopharyngeal cavity (AT/NC) ratio correlates positively with LMS in these patients.

Materials and Methods: Between 2014 and 2023, 1418 individuals without clinical findings of rhinosinusitis who were scheduled for otologic procedures underwent temporal bone CT scans at a tertiary academic hospital. These cases were retrospectively analysed using a cross-sectional design.

Results: Of the 1661 patients in the radiologic database, 1418 met the inclusion criteria, including 718 males and 700 females; 946 were adults and 472 were children. The cohort’s mean age was 28.23 years. The mean LMS was 2.5 among pediatric and 1.8 among adult patients. The AT/NC ratio did not correlate with LMS in either group.

Conclusion: Our study determined the incidental LMS in adults (1.8) and children (2.5). The maxillary sinus was the most frequently abnormal, followed by the anterior ethmoid sinuses. In the absence of CRS symptoms or acute/subacute upper respiratory infections, adenoid hypertrophy may not significantly predict the severity of the sinus disease.

Keywords

Lund score , computed tomography , chronic rhinosinusitis , sinus staging , asymptomatic population

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