Nasal calculi are mainly composed of foreign bodies and blood clots in the nasal cavity; calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and other tear substances in nasal secretions and tears are deposited around the core, and stones are formed over time. A study by Seyhun et al. found that the most common symptoms of nasal stones were unilateral nasal obstruction and unilateral suppurative rhinorrhea, and between the inferior turbinate and nasal septum was the most common site of stone production (67.7%) [
7]. Sinonasal CT examination is the first choice for the diagnosis of rhino lithiasis and usually shows a uniform high-density mass in the center of the lesion with an irregular contour, which can sometimes cause changes such as nasal septum perforations, destruction of the medial wall of the maxillary sinus with recurrent sinusitis, palatal perforations, and oral fistulas [
8]. In this case, due to drug-related maxillary osteonecrosis [
9] accompanied by soft tissue mass formation and surrounding deposition of inflammatory secretions of the nasal cavity, nasal stones were generated in the inferior nasal meatus, which obstructed the nasolacrimal duct and finally produced chronic dacryocystitis with lacrimal discharge as the main manifestation.
Chronic dacryocystitis is more common in middle-aged and elderly women, and clinical case reports of dacryocystitis in male patients are rare (28.7%, 23.1%, and 32.4%, respectively) [
10‐
12]; additionally, only 1.35% of male patients with dacryocystitis are over 60 years old [
12], which may be due to the narrowness of the nasolacrimal duct in the female anatomy [
13]. Nasolacrimal duct obstruction is the most important cause of dacryocystitis [
14]. Obstruction of the lower lacrimal system causes tear discharge disorders that allow bacteria to multiply, leading to lacrimal sac inflammation, which further aggravates nasolacrimal duct obstruction, creating a vicious cycle [
15‐
17]. An epidemiological survey of dacryocystitis by Khatoon et al. showed that secondary nasolacrimal duct obstruction accounted for approximately 3.78% of cases, much less than primary nasolacrimal duct obstruction (96.23%) [
18]. Nasal-related diseases account for approximately 28.6% of dacryocystitis, and the most common causes are deviation of the nasal septum, rhinitis, and hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate on the same side as the infection [
14]. Cases related to nasal stones are rarely reported. In clinical practice, chronic dacryocystitis usually has a long onset time, which can be several years. In this case, the patient had right nasal obstruction with increased nasal secretion since June 2022, but the symptoms were ignored because of the long-term pain and purulent discharge in the right posterior maxilla due to maxillary necrosis on the right side.
We report this case because such cases are rare in the clinic, and chronic dacryocystitis caused by nasal calculi can easily be missed.