The Correlation of Temporal Bone CT With Surgery Findings in Evaluation of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases of The Middle Ear

Aim: Computerized tomography (CT) examination of temporal bone is a routine procedure in the diseases of the middle ear. The aim of this study is to establish the efficacy of CT in the diagnosis of the complications due to inflammatory pathologies of middle ear. Method: Patients with suspected middle ear pathology were undergone temporal CT examination between August 2006June 2008. 56 patients who underwent operation with various complications due to chronic otitis media and choleostatoma were included in the study group. Complications that developed chronic inflammation secondary were established as tympanosclerosis, ossicle erosion, scutum erosion, tegmen erosion, irregularity in mastoid bone cortex and contour of facial nerve, semicircular canal defect and chronic mastoiditis. Result: Sensitivity, specificty, positive and negative predictive value of complications were 84.6%, 88.3%, 68.7% and 95% for timpanosclerosis, 80%, 46.1%, 83.3% and 42% for ossicle erosion, 80%, 90.4%, 84.8% and 73.7% for scutum erosion, 0%, 97.7%, 0% and 80% for tegmen erosion, 40%, 97.8%, 80% and 88.2% for irregularity in mastoid bone cortex, 66.6%, 98%, 80% and 96.07% for irregularity in bone contour of facial nerve, 45.4%, 95.5%, 71.4% and 87.7% for SSC defect, 0.02%, 100%, 100% and 27.2% for chronic mastoiditis. Conclusion: In the evaluation of the complications, surgical findings were highly compatible with tympanosclerosis, ossicle erosion, scutum erosion, irregularity in bone contour of facial nerve. However, CT findings were inconsistent with surgical findings in terms of tegmen erosion, irregularity in mastoid bone cortex, chronic mastoiditis, SSC defects. We suggest that these inconsistencies were related to the surgical technique and CT limitations.