HELICAL CT OF THE LARYNX - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY WITH CONVENTIONAL CT SCAN

Aim: To compare helical and conventional CT scans of the larynx. Patie nts and methods: Thirty-three patients underwent helical and conventio nal CT studies of the neck and the larynx using 3 mm section collimati on for both studies and a table feed of 4 mm/sec for helical CT. Helic al scans were reconstructed at 2 mm increments. Two independent observ ers rated the visibility of the laryngeal structures from 1 (poor and non diagnostic) to 5 (excellent and diagnostic), and motion artifacts from 1 (greater than or equal to 10 degraded scans) to 5 (no motion ar tifacts). Results: The motion artifacts score was significantly better for helical CT. No significant difference was observed for the laryng eal structures score between helical and conventional CT studies. The interobserver kappa mean value was 0.756 and 0.68 for helical and conv entional CT, respectively. Conclusion: Helical CT can be routinely per formed and replace conventional CT study for the evaluation of larynge al diseases.