Cone beam volumetric tomography versus conventional computed tomography in evaluation of paranasal sinuses

Paranasal sinus disease is one of the most common problems of patients that refer to ENT centers. Adding to clinical examination; imaging plays an important role in diagnosis and treatment. Also the imaging of paranasal sinuses is necessary before surgery. Although computed tomography is the modality of choice for these areas, it has some disadvantages which the most important one is its high patient's dose. The aim of this study is the comparison between cone beam volumetric tomography and conventional computed tomography computed tomography, in evaluation of these areas. In this descriptive-analytic study Coronal computed tomography imaged and cone beam volumetric tomography images were performed for 40 patients referred to ENT department of Amir Aelam Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Computed tomography images were observed by general radiologist and cone beam volumetric tomography images by Maxillofacial radiologist and their result's were recorded. Also ENT surgeon recorded her observations during surgery. Data were analyzed using McNemar test with Kappa and weighted Kappa agreement coefficient. No statistical difference was shown between the efficacy of computed tomography and cone beam volumetric tomography in evaluation of paranasal sinuses (p> 0.05). As there was not any difference between conventional computed tomography and cone beam volumetric tomography in the assessment of paranasal sinuses and additional advantages of the later, cone beam volumetric tomography is suggested for paranasal sinus imaging before surgery.