External Auditory Canal Cholesteatoma: Clinical and Radiological Features

Abstract Introduction External auditory canal cholesteatoma (EACC) is often misdiagnosed. Objectives To outline the clinical presentation of EACC, and to describe its radiological findings on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the temporal bone. Methods The clinical records of all patients diagnosed with EACC from April 2017 to March 2020 in a tertiary care center were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical presentation, the findings on the HRCT of the temporal bone, and the treatment provided were analyzed. Results A total of 9 patients, 7 males and 2 females, with a mean age of 30 years, were diagnosed with primary EACC. Six patients presented with otorrhoea, three, with otalgia, three. with hearing loss, and one with facial palsy. Some patients had multiple symptoms. The most common findings on otomicroscopy were destruction of the posterior and inferior canal walls, with cholesteatoma and intact tympanic membrane (six patients). Two patients had aural polyp, and one had a narrow ear canal due to sagging of the posterior canal wall. On HRCT, all nine patients showed soft-tissue density in the external auditory canal with erosion of the canal wall. The disease extended to the mastoid in eight cases, and to the cavity of the middle ear in one. There were three cases of dehiscence of the facial canal. Dehiscence of the dural and sinus plates was observed in two cases each. Eight patients underwent mastoidectomy, and one underwent debridement with canalplasty. Conclusion Review of the clinical and radiological findings is essential to reduce the rate of misdiagnosis.

The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology: Validating at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital

Abstract Introduction Fine needle aspiration cytopathology (FNAC) is widely used for the stratification of thyroid nodules. Objective The objective of the present study is to validate FNAC reporting based on The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) at our institution and to calculate the risk of malignancy in each category. Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted jointly at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat and at the Department of Pathology for a period of 1.5 years (May 2018 to November 2018). All cases presenting with thyroid swelling in the outpatient department were investigated with ultrasonography (USG) of the neck, thyroid function test, and FNAC. All FNAC reporting was done according to TBSRTC. Results A total of 134 thyroidectomies were performed during the study period. The female to male ratio was 5.3:1. The age ranged from 11 to 74 years old. with a mean age of 51 years old. The FNAC has a specificity of 84.9%, a sensitivity of 89.4%, a positive predictive value of 86.4%, a negative predictive value of 88.2%, and an accuracy of 87.3% in detecting thyroid cancer. The implied risk of malignancy (ROM) in Bethesda II, III, IV, V and VI is 11.7%, 25%,40%,76.6% & 96%, respectively. Conclusion The four studied categories had a ROM comparable to other studies, except for the Bethesda III category. Further studies with larger sample sizes and with the use of USG guidance for the aspiration from the thyroid swelling may give better results by reducing the number of false negative and false positive cases.

Monostotic fibrous dysplasia of temporal bone: a case series and literature review

Fibrous dysplasia is a benign, progressive fibro-osseus disease. Typically, there are threevariants monostotic, polyostotic and McCune Albright syndrome. Monostotic variant being the commonest of all, affects mainly the craniofacial bones and ribs. Fibrous dysplasia affecting the temporal bone may be challenging at times. Here, we present our case series of three temporal bone fibrous dysplasias along with the literature review.