Pediatric Sinus Development and Sinusitis

There is a tendency for any type of nasal drainage to be attributed to " sinusitis " in children. Especially in young children, "sinusitis" is a relatively rare cause for nasal drainage and congestion which is actually more commonly due to viruses and enlarged adenoids . The reason why sinuses play a relatively minor role in nasal drainage and congestion is because sinuses are not fully developed in children. It probably is not until around the age of 7 years old th…

11/02/2013 0

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Can You Spot the Gorilla in the CT Scan?

I am not going to go into too much detail regarding a recent news article regarding how 83% of radiologists (physicians who specialize is looking at radiology pictures) failed to see a gorilla on a CT scan of the chest... you can read more of the details here . But, the question is can YOU find the gorilla in the CT Scan that was portrayed? Still can't see it? Look below... Keep going... Keep going... Keep going... I'll point to it...

2/14/2013 0

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How Much Radiation Exposure Occurs with a CT Scan? X-ray? Sunlight?

A common concern now is how much radiation exposure occurs with common radiological testing such as x-rays and CT scans, especially given the small increased risk of cancer with accumulated exposure over years. Of note, ultrasounds and MRI scans do not emit radiation. MRI scans use magnets while ultrasounds use sound waves in order to obtain imaging information. So, here's a chart comparing such tests with common environmental radiation exposure such as sunlight. Information taken fro…

2/13/2013 0

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Sinus Mass Chance Finding (Incidentaloma)

The New York Times published a great story on the dreaded incidentaloma on Jan 17, 2013. An incidentaloma is essentially a chance finding of a mass most likely benign, that was incidentally discovered on a CT or MRI scan ordered for a completely different reason. With such incidentalomas, it leads to patient anxiety causing physicians and surgeons to order even more tests and procedures (which themselves may lead to other incidentalomas). The vast majority of such incidentalomas are "no…

1/18/2013 0

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Head CT Scans Increase Risk of Cancer in Kids

By how much? Brain tumor/cancer risk was 3X greater than the general population in children who received two to three CT scans of the head. And the chance of developing leukemia was three times as great for children who received five to 10 CT scans of the head. In the study published in Lancet, the researchers examined 176,587 children who had received a CT scan before age 22 and looked at their medical history for an average of 10 years afterward. Though the risk sounds "high,&…

6/06/2012 0

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Head MRI and CT Scans Explained!

@ENTHouse brought to my attention a FANTASTIC website that literally identifies and goes through all anatomic structures on every slice of a CT or MRI scan of the head. Sinus cavities, blood vessels, nerves, bone, suture lines, etc... Wish I thought of doing it first... It may be a bit confusing for a layperson, but if you have a copy of your CT/MRI scan and wonder where the maxillary sinus or optic nerve is located on your scan, check this website out and you probably can figure it out…

1/08/2012 1

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