Role of Computed Tomography in the Evaluation of Nasopharyngeal Mass

In Indian subcontinent, all types of nasopharyngeal masses are rare. However, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is not uncommon in Bangladesh. It is very important to differentiate malignant from benign lesions early in the disease process. In recent years, CT is the primary diagnostic screening modality for the detection of nasopharyngeal pathology. This cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Radiology & Imaging, BSMMU in collaboration with Department of otolaryngology of the same hospital from July 2012 to June 2014. Sensitivity of CT scan in diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was 100%, specificity was 93.10%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 93.94%, negative predictive value (NPV) was 100% and accuracy was 96.67%. Sensitivity of CT scan in diagnosis of benign angiofibroma was 78.26 %, specificity was 89.19%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 81.82%, negative predictive value (NPV) was 86.84% and accuracy was 85% of CT scan. CT scan findings of the present study correlated well in most of the cases with the histopathological evaluations. Considering the high validity parameter it can come to a conclusion that CT scan is as highly effective as histopathology in diagnosis of nasopharyngeal mass.