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

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.

Chinese abstract

背景：目前认为上半规管裂开综合征（SSCD）是由于覆盖上半规管（SSC）的骨块的缺失, 导致压力或声音引发的眩晕和振动幻视。

目的：探讨中国人上半规管覆盖骨厚度与年龄、性别的关系。

材料与方法：回顾性研究山东大学第二医院2017年1月至2018年4月耳科门诊患者的311例颞骨锥束计算机断层扫描（CBCT）图像。图像重建与Poschl面一致, 并采用SCC覆盖骨的最薄区域。

结果：女性172例（55.31%）, 男性139例（44.69%）。平均年龄41岁。总厚度平均差为-0.0210。女性和男性的覆盖骨厚度没有显著差异（P=.7113）。随着年龄的增长, 平均差异为0.0801（P=.1557）, 这在统计学上并不显著。

结论与意义：随年龄增长, 覆盖骨厚度无明显变化。CBCT是评估SSCD的最佳方法。

Keywords:

• Superior semicircular canal
• superior semicircular canal dehiscence
• Cone beam computed tomography

Disclosure statement

The authors of this research declared no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [81570924].