Abstract
Endochondral ossification of the otic capsule is a process that continues postnatally; hence, incomplete endochondral ossification is seen as pericochlear hypoattenuation on temporal bone CT scans of children. We determined the prevalence and extent of this entity in a large series and assessed its relation to age and underlying sensorineural hearing loss. Initially, temporal bone CTs of 40 children with sensorineural hearing loss were retrospectively assessed and compared with those of a control group scanned for non-sensorineural hearing loss reasons to assess any difference in the prevalence or extent of incomplete endochondral ossification. Then the CT scans of 510 children (age range, 17 days to 17 years) were retrospectively reviewed, and any observed endochondral ossification areas were classified as mild, moderate, or extensive, according to their extent. Neither the presence nor degree of incomplete endochondral ossification had any significant correlation with the presence of sensorineural hearing loss (P = .08 and P = .1, respectively). Incomplete endochondral ossification was more frequently seen (62% of cases) than complete ossification. There was no statistically significant correlation between incomplete endochondral ossification and sex (P = .8), but an inverse correlation was found between the presence of incomplete endochondral ossification and increasing age (P < .001). Overall, mild incomplete endochondral ossification was the most frequent involvement pattern (44.4%). The pericochlear hypoattenuation in the otic capsule representing incomplete endochondral ossification is a normal finding in children and can be seen as a marked curvilinear hypoattenuation at younger ages in the absence of any clinical disorder.
Highlights
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEEndochondral ossification of the otic capsule is a process that continues postnatally; incomplete endochondral ossification is seen as pericochlear hypoattenuation on temporal bone CT scans of children
Neither the presence nor degree of incomplete endochondral ossification had any significant correlation with the presence of sensorineural hearing loss (P ϭ .08 and P ϭ .1, respectively)
The pericochlear hypoattenuation in the otic capsule representing incomplete endochondral ossification is a normal finding in children and can be seen as a marked curvilinear hypoattenuation at younger ages in the absence of any clinical disorder
Summary
Temporal bone CTs of 40 children with sensorineural hearing loss were retrospectively assessed and compared with those of a control group scanned for non-sensorineural hearing loss reasons to assess any difference in the prevalence or extent of incomplete endochondral ossification. The temporal bone CTs of patients with and without SNHL were compared to assess any difference in the prevalence of incomplete endochondral ossification in these 2 groups. The indication for the scan in the control group included auricular atresia in 5 patients, middle ear infection in 18 patients, and conductive hearing loss in 17 patients None of these patients had evidence of SNHL on their audiologic tests, and they did not have any inner ear abnormality on CT. The mean age for the patient group with SNHL was 4.9 Ϯ 3.3 years (range, 17 days to 17 years), while for the control group the mean age was 8.1 Ϯ 4.5 years (range, 10 months to 17 years)
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