Does The Hounsfield Unit measured in multiple focus in high resolution
temporal bone tomography contribute to the diagnosis of otosclerosis?
Abstract
Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the function of
high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) densitometry in the diagnosis
of otosclerosis by performing densitometric measurements on the foci
around the cochlea. Materials and Methods: The HRCT images of 0.5 mm
thin-slice axial-sections obtained from 30 patients with otosclerosis,
who had been surgically confirmed and performed computed tomography of
the temporal bone before the surgery, and 30 patients, who had undergone
cochlear implant surgery and had been identified as the control group
were examined. Densitometric measurements obtained from 7 different
points of the otic capsule were recorded as the mean Hounsfield unit
(HU) for each patient. Results: When we compared the patient and the
control groups, a statistically significant difference was found in
densitometric measurements in 6 of the 7 different regions
(p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference
only in the HU 4 region (p>0.05). There was also a
statistically significant difference between these two groups in the
mean HU value obtained by measurements performed in 7 regions
(p<0.05). In addition, no significant difference was found
between both ears in all regions in the densitometric measurements at 7
different points of the otic capsule between the operated and
non-operated ears of these patients (p> 0.05). Moreover, a
negative and significant relationship was found between the bone
conduction hearing threshold and HU4, HU5 and mean HU values according
to the result of the Spearman correlation test. Conclusion: In our
study, it was found that the density around the otic capsule was lower
in patients with otosclerosis compared to normal patients. In addition,
it was found that there was no statistically significant difference in
density between the ear that was surgically confirmed to have
otosclerosis and the non-operated ear in patients with otosclerosis