The Kobe journal of medical sciences
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of adding Waters' projection to panoramic imaging compared with panoramic imaging or Waters' projection alone. Maxillary sinusitis in 106 patients (206 sinuses) was retrospectively assessed with panoramic imaging, Waters' projection, and computed tomography imaging by two oral radiologists. The diagnostic performance was assessed with computed tomography imaging as the gold standard. ⋯ Intra-observer agreement was good for Waters' projection (κ, 0.752), and moderate for panoramic imaging (κ, 0.597). Panoramic imaging was equivalent to Waters' projection for diagnosing maxillary sinusitis. Combination imaging comprising panoramic imaging and Waters' projection can contribute to the diagnosis of odontogenic maxillary sinusitis because of its high sensitivity.