A Gamified Social Media-Based Head and Neck Radiology Education Initiative of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology: Viewership and Engagement Trends at 3 Years.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Social media has made inroads in medical education. We report the creation and 3-year (2018-2021) longitudinal assessment of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology Case of the Week (#ASHNRCOTW), assessing viewership, engagement, and impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on this Twitter-based education initiative. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unknown cases were tweeted from the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology account weekly. Tweet impressions (number of times seen), engagements (number of interactions), and new followers were tabulated. A social media marketing platform identified worldwide distribution of Twitter followers. Summary and t test statistics were performed. RESULTS: #ASHNRCOTW was highly visible with 2,082,280 impressions and 203,137 engagements. There were significantly greater mean case impressions (9917 versus 6346), mean case engagements (1305 versus 474), case engagement rates (13.06% versus 7.76%), mean answer impressions (8760 versus 5556), mean answer engagements (908 versus 436), answer engagement rates (10.38% versus 7.87%), mean total (case + answer) impressions (18,677 versus 11,912), mean total engagements (2214 versus 910), and total engagement rates (11.79% versus 7.69%) for cases published after the pandemic started (all P values < .001). There was a significant increase in monthly new followers after starting #ASHNRCOTW (mean, 134 versus 6; P < .001) and significantly increased monthly new followers after the pandemic started compared with prepandemic (mean, 178 versus 101; P = .003). The American Society of Head and Neck Radiology has 7564 Twitter followers throughout 130 countries (66% outside the United States). CONCLUSIONS: Social media affords substantial visibility, engagement, and global outreach for radiology education. #ASHNRCOTW viewership and engagement increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publicly Available Metrics Underestimate AJNR Twitter Impact and Follower Engagement.

Social media use by professional organizations has increased as a platform to disseminate information, affording an alternative avenue to engage membership and the public. The American Journal of Neuroradiology (AJNR) posts cases and articles, hosts Tweet chats, advertises podcasts, and more on its Twitter account (@TheAJNR). The objective of this study was to determine whether user engagement is underestimated on the basis of publicly available metrics and to assess the engagement rate. This study demonstrated that engagement extends beyond visible metrics, suggesting an AJNR "silent" following beyond what is readily apparent. Median engagement rates from the @TheAJNR account from 2017 to 2019 appear stable since last reported in 2016 and are comparable with those reported in other professional medical journals.

Parapharyngeal Space Venous Malformation: An Imaging Mimic of Pleomorphic Adenoma.

Venous malformations in the parapharyngeal space are rare and may be challenging to diagnose with imaging secondary to multiple overlapping features with pleomorphic adenoma, which is much more commonly found in this region. While both lesions are T1 isointense and T2 hyperintense relative to skeletal muscle and demonstrate contrast enhancement, more uniform T2 hyperintensity and progressive contrast pooling on delayed postcontrast T1WI may allow the radiologist to include venous malformation in the differential diagnosis. This is important because it has the potential to alter management from surgical resection to observation. The primary aim of this study was to review the imaging appearance of parapharyngeal venous malformations through a retrospective case series.

The Impact of Middle Turbinate Concha Bullosa on the Severity of Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy in Patients with a Deviated Nasal Septum.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and concha bullosa often occur opposite the direction of nasal septal deviation. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether a concha bullosa impacts inferior turbinate hypertrophy in patients who have nasal septal deviation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The electronic medical record was used to identify sinus CT scans exhibiting nasal septal deviation for 100 adult subjects without and 100 subjects with unilateral middle turbinate concha bullosa. Exclusion criteria included previous sinonasal surgery, tumor, sinusitis, septal perforation, and craniofacial trauma. Nasal septal deviation was characterized in the coronal plane by distance from the midline (severity) and height from the nasal floor. Measurement differences between sides for inferior turbinate width (overall and bone), medial mucosa, and distance to the lateral nasal wall were calculated as inferior turbinate hypertrophy indicators. RESULTS: The cohorts with and without concha bullosa were similarly matched for age, sex, and nasal septal deviation severity, though nasal septal deviation height was greater in the cohort with concha bullosa than in the cohort without concha bullosa (19.1 ± 4.3 mm versus 13.5 ± 4.1 mm, P < .001). Compensatory inferior turbinate hypertrophy was significantly greater in the cohort without concha bullosa than in the cohort with it as measured by side-to-side differences in turbinate overall width, bone width, and distance to the lateral nasal wall (P < .01), but not the medial mucosa. Multiple linear regression analyses found nasal septal deviation severity and height to be significant predictors of inferior turbinate hypertrophy with positive and negative relationships, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy is directly proportional to nasal septal deviation severity and inversely proportional to nasal septal deviation height. The effect of a concha bullosa on inferior turbinate hypertrophy is primarily mediated through influence on septal morphology, because the nasal septal deviation apex tends to be positioned more superior from the nasal floor in these patients.