Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Middle ear space is one of the most important components of the Jahrsdoerfer grading system (J-score), which is used to determine surgical candidacy for congenital aural atresia. The purpose of this study was to introduce a semiautomated method for measuring middle ear volume and determine whether middle ear volume, either alone or in combination with the J-score, can be used to predict early postoperative audiometric outcomes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 18 patients who underwent an operation for unilateral congenital aural atresia at our institution. Using the Livewire Segmentation tool in the Carestream Vue PACS, we segmented middle ear volumes using a semiautomated method for all atretic and contralateral normal ears on preoperative high-resolution CT imaging. Postsurgical audiometric outcome data were then analyzed in the context of these middle ear volumes.
RESULTS: Atretic middle ear volumes were significantly smaller than those in contralateral normal ears (P < .001). Patients with atretic middle ear volumes of >305 mm3 had significantly better postoperative pure tone average and speech reception thresholds than those with atretic ears below this threshold volume (P = .01 and P = .006, respectively). Atretic middle ear volume incorporated into the J-score offered the best association with normal postoperative hearing (speech reception threshold ≤ 30 dB; OR = 37.8, P = .01).
CONCLUSIONS: Middle ear volume, calculated in a semiautomated fashion, is predictive of postsurgical audiometric outcomes, both independently and in combination with the conventional J-score.
ABBREVIATIONS:
- CAA
- congenital aural atresia
- J+
- modified J-score
- J-score
- Jahrsdoerfer grading system
- PTA
- pure tone average
- SRT
- speech reception threshold
Footnotes
Disclosures: Bradley W. Kesser—UNRELATED: Payment for Lectures Including Service on Speakers Bureaus: DePuy Synthes, Comments: I received a single honorarium for a lecture and taught a temporal bone course*; Royalties: Nasco, Comments: I received royalties for an ear simulator that I and my colleagues patented and licensed to Nasco*. *Money paid to the institution.
Paper previously present as an abstract at: Annual Meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology and the Foundation of the ASNR Symposium, April 22-27, 2017; Long Beach, California.
- © 2018 by American Journal of Neuroradiology