Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2019
Mastoiditis is an otological emergency, and cross-sectional imaging has a role in the diagnosis of complications and surgical planning. Advances in imaging technology are becoming increasingly sophisticated and, by the same token, the ability to accurately interpret findings is essential.
This paper reviews common and rare complications of mastoiditis using case-led examples. A radiologist-derived systematic checklist is proposed, to assist the ENT surgeon with interpreting cross-sectional imaging in emergency mastoiditis cases when the opinion of a head and neck radiologist may be difficult to obtain.
A 16-point checklist (the ‘mastoid 16’) was used on a case-led basis to review the radiological features of both common and rare complications of mastoiditis; this is complemented with imaging examples.
Acute mastoiditis has a range of serious complications that may be amenable to treatment, once diagnosed using appropriate imaging. The proposed checklist provides a systematic approach to identifying complications of mastoiditis.
Mr M W Mather takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper