Comparison of Plain and Contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography for the Detection of Head-and-neck Abscess

Abstract

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) is useful for the detection of a head-and-neck abscess. However, adverse reactions to contrast agents medium can rarely occur. Therefore, we compared the detection rate of head-and-neck abscesses between plain CT and contrast-enhanced CT. Our study population included 10 patients with infection of the head-and-neck region. Seven patients were diagnosed as having an abscess. Ten otorhinolaryngologists interpreted the findings on plain and contrast-enhanced CT to determine the presence of an abscess in the 10 study participants. The detection sensitivities of plain CT and contrast-enhanced CT for a head-and-neck abscess were 91.4% and 98.6%, respectively. Plain CT, without injection of a contrast medium, is useful for the diagnosis of head-and-neck abscess. The limitations of this study were that our study population was small, and we selected typical cases.