A DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY OF ATROPHIC RHINITIS AND OZENA

Abstract

In approaching the problem of atrophic rhinitis and ozena, one is confronted with two distinct diseases that have been considered throughout the literature as one and the same disease. Until the time of Grünwald,¹in 1890, the name of ozena was applied to practically all nasal conditions producing a foul odor. In this manner there were grouped under ozena, syphilitic ulcers of the nose, tuberculosis, nasal diphtheria and, in fact, every nasal condition characterized by a foul odor. When Grünwald observed that the accessory nasal sinuses were frequently the source of the profuse purulent and foulsmelling nasal discharges, he proceeded to consider ozena, which term was used synonymously with atrophic rhinitis, as the end-result of sinusitis. He attempted to refute the case reports of Fränkel,²who described ozena as a disease characterized by a triad of symptoms, a foul odor, atrophy and crust formation without