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Changes of visualised Eustachian tube lengths by age and position: Radiologic study in sitting and supine positions using cone beam and conventional CT
Author(s) -
Ha Seung Cheol,
Baik Jin,
Park Hyo Jung,
Moon Hyun,
Kang Byung Chul,
Park Jun Woo,
Kang Woo Seok,
Park Hong Ju
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
clinical otolaryngology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1749-4486
pISSN - 1749-4478
DOI - 10.1111/coa.13342
Subject(s) - medicine , supine position , eustachian tube , sitting , cone beam ct , cone beam computed tomography , nuclear medicine , anatomy , radiology , computed tomography , middle ear , surgery , pathology
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.