Aslıhan ARTAŞ, Elif Meltem ASLAN
Clinical Dentistry and Research - 2026;50(2):179-187
Background and Aim: The goal of this research was to comparatively evaluate the maxillary sinus and pharyngeal airway volumes of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma by employing cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised CBCT scans of 20 patients with COPD, 20 patients with asthma, and 40 healthy individuals. The volume of maxillary sinuses and pharyngeal airway in patients with asthma and COPD were assessed by semi-automatic segmentation technique. ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test were applied to analyze the parameters. Results: Pharyngeal airway volume was significantly higher in the control group (25561.1 +/- 234.3 mm³) than in patients with asthma (20250.5 +/- 3871.6 mm³) and COPD (16894.7 +/- 4223.9 mm³). In addition, pharyngeal airway volume was significantly higher in patients with asthma than in those with COPD (p < 0.001). Maxillary sinus volumes were significantly lower in patients with COPD compared with healthy individuals (p = 0.001 for the right sinus and p < 0.001 for the left sinus), whereas no significant difference was observed between the asthma and control groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that careful airway assessment may be beneficial when planning general anesthesia or procedures such as orthognathic surgery in patients with asthma or COPD. In addition, reduced maxillary sinus volume in COPD may serve as a potential radiological marker of chronic upper airway involvement.
