The differential diagnosis of abnormal image in the nasopharyngeal cavity and wall / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To improve the differential diagnostic accuracy of abnormal image in the nasopharyngeal cavity and wall.Methods Sixty-five cases with abnormal image in the nasopharyngeal cavity and wall were collected.Twenty cases were proven by operation and pathology.Forty-five cases were proven by biopsy and pathology. All the patients were examined by using CT and (or) MRI. Their imaging features were analyzed in details.Results In 19 cases, polyp and inverted papilloma in the nasal cavity and choanal projected into the nasopharyngeal cavity. Small air bubbles or contact between the lesion and the nasopharyngeal wall were detected in 18 of them. The edge of the polyp was regular, while the margin of the inverted papilloma was irregular. In 11 cases, nasopharyngitis or adenoidal hypertrophy located in the posterosuperior wall. The anterior borders were almost straight or curve toward inside, and the contrast enhanced CT and MRI scans showed that the mucous membrane lines were continuous. Oropharyngitis in the right side spread to the right wall of the nasopharynx without clear borderline and the space occupying effect was little in 1 case. There were 33 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and 1 case of non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma (NHL), and the anterior borders of the masses were evaginated like a curve, and most of them were accompanied with shallowing or disappearing of pharyngeal recess and tumefaction of the levator muscle of palatine velum.Conclusion According to the imaging features, most of the abnormalities in the nasopharyngeal cavity and wall can be diagnosed correctly.