<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Aim was to study the correlation between high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan and intraoperative findings during surgery in cases of chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a descriptive study conducted on 72 patients with acquired cholesteatoma at Govt TD Medical College, Alappuzha for a period of 18 months. All the patients were subjected to HRCT of the temporal bone. Radiological correlation was done with the intra-operative findings. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated.   </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Total 24 (33.3%) patients had holotympanic cholesteatoma, 21 (29.2%) had involvement of the attic alone and 16 (22.2%) had attic and antrum involved. 100% correlation was found with bony wall erosions, whereas 96.9% and 75% sensitivity were noted in incus and stapes erosions respectively. 100% specificity was obtained in facial canal and sinus plate erosion, while a specificity of 96.9% in tegmen erosion and 98% in were seen in malleus erosion. By chi square test the difference in correlation was not significant (p value&gt;0.01). Good correlation was seen for lateral semicircular canal fistula. Contrast CT is more specific, but MRI with diffusion weighted sequences is the best in imaging cholesteatoma, especially residual lesions.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Good correlation was found between HRCT scan and intra-operative findings in cases of cholesteatoma in relation to bony wall erosion of the surrounding structures. CT scan alone cannot differentiate soft tissue masses.</p>

Background and objectives: Computerized tomography (CT) scan with contrast can delineate soft tissue pathologies and is now the first choice in diagnosing sinonasal malignancy and inflammatory lesions. The present study compared the diagnostic nasal endoscopy (DNE) and CT scan to diagnose cases presented with sinonasal mass. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive study conducted on patients with sinonasal masses attending at Government TD Medical College, Alappuzha, Kerala from 1/1/2014 to 30/6/2015. Each patient was examined by diagnostic nasal endoscopy and had undergone preoperative CT scan. Histopathological examination of the specimens was carried out and compared with the findings of DNE and CT scan. Results: A total of 72 cases were enrolled in the study. Age group was from 13-85 years with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. Nasal obstruction was the commonest symptom. Among the 72 cases, 59 belonged to the non-neoplastic group and 13 to the neoplastic group. Sinonasal polyps (65.3%) formed the majority of the non-neoplastic lesions. Vascular lesions (6.9%) were the commonest benign neoplastic mass and malignancy was seen in 6.9% of cases. Diagnosis by DNE and CT scan was same except in 3 cases. Histopathology and radiological scan result correlated well except in 3 cases. Conclusion: Histopathology still remains the gold standard in the diagnosis of sinonasal masses. Clinical, CT scan and histopathology diagnoses were complementary with each other. However, CT scan is indispensible in studying the anatomical variants and providing the route map prior to and during endoscopic sinus surgeries. IMC J Med Sci 2022; 16(1): 008 *Correspondence: Santhi Thankappan Pillai, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Government TD Medical College, Vandanam, Alappuzha, Kerala 688005, India. Email: sttpillai@gmail.com