Computed tomography scan of rhinosinusitis, current practice, and requirements for endoscopic surgery of paranasal sinuses.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the current practice in requesting and performing paranasal sinuses CT scan for patients scheduled for endoscopic sinus surgery, and to describe the current hospitals practice in performing these scans.

METHODS: This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in the King Hussein Medical Center, Amman, Jordan between April and May 2010. Three forms were designed to collect data from our study groups, which included: Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeons, radiologists, and the radiology sections in 3 hospitals. The first was designed for ENT surgeons and aimed at investigating, whether or not they perform endoscopic sinus surgery, and if they have specific requirements for a CT scan of the sinuses. The second was designed for the radiologist to investigate their specifications in performing CT of the sinuses. The last was designed to evaluate the current practice of performing CT of the sinuses at the 3 hospitals.

RESULTS: Twenty-four ENT surgeons participated, 83.3% surgeons performed endoscopic sinus surgery, and 83.3% requested specific specifications for the sinuses CT scan, and the most requested specification was coronal plane in 42%. Of the 24 radiologists, 71% prefer the prone position, 71% prefer the coronal plane, and 71% preferred direct coronal. In all 3 hospitals, the axial plane with reconstructed coronal images, the current practice with a slice thickness of 2-3 mm, and the total number of images was 40-50.

CONCLUSIONS: Differences between ENT surgeons, radiologists, and hospitals practice and other hospitals guidelines found in literature are present. Therefore, we are in need of an agreed upon guideline protocol to obtain the best data with the least radiation dose.