Purpose: Controversy exists regarding the relationship between nasal pathology and congenital dacryocystitis. The recent advent of nasal endoscopes has greatly improved visualization of deep and hidden areas of nasal anatomy and has led to the elaboration of nasal anatomical variants and pathologies that were previously unknown. The current study aimed to evaluate for associations, if any, between anatomical abnormalities or variations in the lateral nasal wall and the presence and resolution of congenital dacryocystitis.
Patients and methods: Phase I was a case-control study that compared the incidence of a predefined set of nasal endoscopic variations in infants with congenital dacryocystitis versus normal infants. Phase II was a cohort study that evaluated the impact of nasal endoscopic variations on the effectiveness of conservative treatment for congenital dacryocystitis. "Failure" to respond to conservative treatment measures was defined as the persistence of symptoms at the first birthday.
Results: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and inferior meatal narrowing were significantly more frequent in the case group than in the control group. Conservative treatment measures resulted in 70 of 83 resolved cases on subsequent follow-up. The occurrence of inferior turbinate hypertrophy or inferior meatal narrowing at final examination was associated with non-resolution. The relative risk of non-resolution with inferior turbinate hypertrophy or inferior meatal narrowing was 7.7 (confidence interval, 2.32 to 25.72) and 12 (confidence interval, 3.7 to 39.2), respectively.
Conclusion: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and inferior meatal narrowing are more frequent in cases of congenital dacryocystitis. They are predictive of a poor outcome when congenital dacryocystitis is treated with conservative measures. This information should be considered when making clinical decisions for patients with congenital dacryocystitis.