Usefulness of Computed Tomography Hounsfield Unit Measurement for Diagnosis of Congenital Cholesteatoma

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements for diagnosing of congenital cholesteatoma. Materials and Methods: A total of 43 patients who underwent surgery due to middle ear cavity lesions were enrolled. Twenty-one patients were confirmed to have congenital cholesteatoma by histopathological results and the other 22 patients were confirmed to have otitis media (OM) by operation. Their computed tomography images were retrospectively reviewed. We measured HU of the soft tissue mass in the middle ear cavity. In addition, we evaluated the largest diameter and location of the mass, the presence of bony erosion in the ear ossicle, and the status of the tympanic membrane in the cholesteatoma group. Results: The mean HU was 37.36 ± 6.11 (range, 27.5–52.5) in the congenital cholesteatoma group and 76.09 ± 8.74 (range, 58.5–96) in the OM group (p < 0.001). The cut-off value was 55.5. The most common location for congenital cholesteatoma was the mesotympanum, and ear ossicle erosion was present in 24%. All patients had an intact tympanic membrane. Conclusion: HU measurement may be useful as an additional indicator to diagnose congenital cholesteatoma. KCI Citation Count: 0