Evaluating the Role of Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography in the Assessment of Neurotologic Complaints

Abstract

We conducted a retrospective study to reexamine the value of singl e-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the evaluation of patients with neurotologic complaints, and to assess the intra-and inter-radiologist variability ofSPECT readings. Ourstudypopulationwas made up of63 patients-23 men and 40 women, aged 34 to 91 years (mean: 59)-who had presented to a tertiary care otolaryngology practice and universit y hospital for evaluation of head trauma, sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and/or vertigo. All patients had undergone brain scanning with SPECTduringtheirevaluation, and almost allhad also undergone magneticresonance imaging(MRI) and standardcomputed tomography (CT). We compared thefindings of all three imagingmodalities in termsof theirabilitytodetect neurotologic abnormalities. We found that detection rates were very similar among the three modalities; abnormalities were found in 24% of SPECTscans, 26% of MRIs, and 23 % of CTs. Nevertheless, we didfind that among 60 patients who underwent all three types of imaging, 13 (22 %) exhibited areas of

The Legacy of the TTASAAN Report—Premature Conclusions and Forgotten Promises: A Review of Policy and Practice Part I

“…The review identified 52 cross-sectional studies and 19 longitudinal studies including a total of 2,634 individuals over 30 years of literature. In addition, seven studies which were not included in the systematic review contain 223 subjects ( 45 – 51 ). Subsequently, two large retrospective studies comparing SPECT neuroimaging in TBI, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and normals containing over 21,399 subjects have been published ( 52 , 53 ).…”