Cone Beam CT Versus Multislice CT: Radiologic Diagnostic Agreement in the Postoperative Assessment of Cochlear Implantation

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic concordance between multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the early postoperative assessment of patients after cochlear implantation. Study Design: Prospective, randomized, single-center, interventional, pilot study on the diagnostic performance of a medical device. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Patients aged over 18 years requiring a computed tomographic (CT) scan after cochlear implant surgery. Interventions: Nine patients were implanted with electrode arrays from three different manufacturers, including one bilateral. High-resolution MSCT and CBCT were then performed, and two experienced radiologists blinded to the imaging modality evaluated the randomized images, twice. Main Outcome Measures: Concordance between MSCT and CBCT for assessing the scalar position (tympani or vestibuli) of the electrodes. Secondary outcome measures were also studied: length of the intracochlear electrode array, percentage of implanted cochlea, number of intracochlear electrodes, and radiation doses. Results: There was a good agreement between both CT scanners in determining the scalar position and estimating the number of implanted electrodes and percentage of implanted cochlea. CBCT had a lower radiation exposure. Conclusions: The CBCT appears to be a useful tool for postoperative assessment of cochlear implanted adult patients and is comparable to the conventional scanner in determining the scalar position, with lower radiation exposure.

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