A Gamified Social Media-Based Head and Neck Radiology Education Initiative of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology: Viewership and Engagement Trends at 3 Years.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Social media has made inroads in medical education. We report the creation and 3-year (2018-2021) longitudinal assessment of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology Case of the Week (#ASHNRCOTW), assessing viewership, engagement, and impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on this Twitter-based education initiative. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unknown cases were tweeted from the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology account weekly. Tweet impressions (number of times seen), engagements (number of interactions), and new followers were tabulated. A social media marketing platform identified worldwide distribution of Twitter followers. Summary and t test statistics were performed. RESULTS: #ASHNRCOTW was highly visible with 2,082,280 impressions and 203,137 engagements. There were significantly greater mean case impressions (9917 versus 6346), mean case engagements (1305 versus 474), case engagement rates (13.06% versus 7.76%), mean answer impressions (8760 versus 5556), mean answer engagements (908 versus 436), answer engagement rates (10.38% versus 7.87%), mean total (case + answer) impressions (18,677 versus 11,912), mean total engagements (2214 versus 910), and total engagement rates (11.79% versus 7.69%) for cases published after the pandemic started (all P values < .001). There was a significant increase in monthly new followers after starting #ASHNRCOTW (mean, 134 versus 6; P < .001) and significantly increased monthly new followers after the pandemic started compared with prepandemic (mean, 178 versus 101; P = .003). The American Society of Head and Neck Radiology has 7564 Twitter followers throughout 130 countries (66% outside the United States). CONCLUSIONS: Social media affords substantial visibility, engagement, and global outreach for radiology education. #ASHNRCOTW viewership and engagement increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secondary Otalgia: Referred Pain Pathways and Pathologies.

Otalgia is very common, and when the cause of ear pain is not identified on otoscopy and physical examination, cross-sectional imaging is routinely used to evaluate for potential sources of referred ear pain (secondary otalgia). Innervation of the ear structures is complex, involving multiple upper cervical, lower cranial, and peripheral nerves, which transit and innervate a large anatomic territory involving the brain, spine, skull base, aerodigestive tract, salivary glands, paranasal sinuses, face, orbits, deep spaces of the neck, skin, and viscera. Interpreting radiologists must be familiar with these neural pathways and potential sources of secondary otalgia. The purposes of this review are to detail the currently proposed mechanisms of referred ear pain, review the salient neuroanatomy of the complex pathways responsible for secondary otalgia, highlight important benign and malignant etiologies of referred ear pain, and provide a structured search pattern for approaching these challenging cases on cross-sectional imaging.

COVID-19-Associated Bifacial Weakness with Paresthesia Subtype of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

We report a case of bifacial weakness with paresthesia, a recognized Guillain-Barré syndrome subtype characterized by rapidly progressive facial weakness and paresthesia without ataxia or other cranial neuropathies, which was temporally associated with antecedent coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). This case highlights a potentially novel but critically important neurologic association of the COVID-19 disease process. Herein, we detail the clinicoradiologic work-up and diagnosis, clinical course, and multidisciplinary medical management of this patient with COVID-19. This case is illustrative of the increasingly recognized but potentially underreported neurologic manifestations of COVID-19, which must be considered and further investigated in this pandemic disease.

Classic signs in head and neck imaging.

Radiologists have long relied upon the use of metaphoric imaging signs to attribute meaning to disease or anatomy-specific imaging patterns encountered in clinical imaging. Teachers of radiology often employ the use of such signs to help learners rapidly identify the typical appearance of various pathologies. Head and neck (H&N) imaging is no exception, and as a specialty that deals with uncommon pathologies and complex anatomy, learners and practising radiologists alike may benefit from this simplistic, pattern-based approach. In this review, we present a compendium of classic imaging signs of H&N lesions, including signs related to traumatic, infectious, neoplastic, congenital, and inflammatory aetiologies found throughout the spectrum of H&N sites (temporal bones, orbits, paranasal sinuses, larynx, salivary glands, and neck soft tissues). Additionally, we identify potential pitfalls and detail critical clinical ramifications related to the rapid and accurate diagnosis of these pathologies.