Changes of visualised Eustachian tube lengths by age and position: Radiologic study in sitting and supine positions
Seung Cheol Ha1, Jin Baik2, Hyo Jung Park3
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Songpa-gu, Korea.
Objectives:
Patulous eustachian tube (ET) has been characterised by the visualisation of full-length ET on computed tomography (CT) results. We wanted to investigate the changes of visualised ET lengths by age in supine and sitting positions.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Setting:
Tertiary care academic referral centre.
Participants:
One hundred subjects who underwent cone beam CT (CBCT) in a sitting position and conventional CT in a supine position for non-otitis-related or dental complaints.
Main Outcome Measures:
Visualised ET lengths from the nasopharyngeal orifice measured by different positions and ages.
Results:
Subjects did not show visualisation of full-length ET throughout the study. The visualised ET lengths (9.0 ± 2.5 mm) of the CBCT group were significantly larger than those (6.8 ± 2.3 mm) of the conventional CT group (P < 0.0001).Women showed longer visualised ET lengths than men in CBCT group (P < 0.001). The visualised ET lengths of the CBCT group were consistent or slightly increasing as a function of age (P = 0.06); however, the visualised ET lengths of the conventional CT group decreased as a function of age (P = 0.001). The slopes of regression lines of the two groups were significantly different.
Conclusions:
When in the supine position, the ET lengths gradually shortened as the subjects got older, most likely due to venous engorgement and the collapse of surrounding tissues; this finding thus suggests that CT in a supine position is an inappropriate method to diagnose patulous ET. The visualised ET lengths by CBCT in a sitting position were consistent throughout the different ages of the subjects and may be used as a diagnostic test for patulous ET.
More Related Videos
11:45Functional Interrogation of Adult Hypothalamic Neurogenesis with Focal Radiological Inhibition
Published on: November 14, 2013
10:28Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis: Radiological Findings from Dual Energy CT and PET/CT
Published on: January 22, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Radiological Investigation I: X-ray and CT
Position-effect Variegation
Position and Displacement
Serial Position Effect
Anatomical Positions
The body is upright, facing forward, and standing erect.
The feet are parallel and flat on the floor.
The arms are hanging by the...
Position Vectors
For instance, we want to locate a point P(x, y, z) relative to the origin of coordinates O. In that case, we can define a position...
