The Clinical Usefulness of Axial OMU CT in ESS for Chronic Sinusitis / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: OMU CT scans are taken on a direct coronal plane for chronic sinusitis and thus allows evaluation only from the coronal plane. However, axial OMU CT provides view of the surrounding vital structures, variation of air cells, and the anterior to posterior relations of structures associated with chronic sinusitis. We investigated the clinical usefulness of axial OMU CT in chronic sinusitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 100 sinuses of 50 patients with chronic sinusitis who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery from May through July of 1998. RESULTS: We observed that axial OMU CT has the advantage of evaluating the outline of the lateral lamella of lamina cribrosa, anterior and posterior ethmoid canal, optic nerve in sphenoid sinus, internal carotid artery in sphenoid sinus, Onodi cell, and anterior to posterior relations of these structures. CONCLUSION: We found that, in chronic sinusitis, axial OMU CT is effective in evaluating the important vital structures, normal variation, and the relations between the structures and that it can help prevent complication during ESS. We therefore recommend axial OMU CT to be included in the routine radiological evaluation for ESS in chronic sinusitis.