The variation of superior semicircular canal bone thickness in relation to age and gender

Acta Otolaryngol. 2019 Jun;139(6):473-478. doi: 10.1080/00016489.2019.1595721. Epub 2019 Apr 29.

Abstract

Background: Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SSCD) is a current diagnosis that is due to a loss of bone covering the superior semicircular canal (SSC). This results in pressure-/sound- induced vertigo and oscillopsia.

Objective: To find the variation of the thickness of the bone that covers the Superior Semicircular Canal with relation to age and gender among the Chinese descents.

Materials and methods: Three hundred and eleven temporal bone Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images of patients who attended Otology clinic at Second Hospital of Shandong University from January, 2017 to April, 2018 were retrospectively studied. The images were reconstructed in the line of Poschl and the thinnest area of the bone covering the SSC was taken.

Results: We included 172 (55.31%) females and 139 (44.69%) males. Mean age was 41 years. Overall mean difference in thickness was found to be -0.0210. There was no significant difference between the female and male bone thickness (p = .7113). With age the mean difference was 0.0801 (p = .1557) which was not statistically significant.

Conclusion and significance: There was no significant change in bone thickness with advancing age. CBCT is the best method of assessing SSCD.

Keywords: Cone beam computed tomography; Superior semicircular canal; superior semicircular canal dehiscence.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Bone Density / physiology*
  • Bone Resorption / diagnostic imaging*
  • Bone Resorption / epidemiology
  • China
  • Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / methods*
  • Female
  • Hospitals, University
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Labyrinth Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Labyrinth Diseases / epidemiology
  • Labyrinth Diseases / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Semicircular Canals / diagnostic imaging*
  • Semicircular Canals / pathology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sex Factors