29.03.2024

Method for diagnosing sinuses, MRI or CT

The question of choosing, from the two presented, the best way to examine the sinuses is not entirely correct. The principle of operation of these two devices is based on completely different physical phenomena. They characterize the studied object in different ways and, rather, complement each other with the necessary information.

Each of them in their own way shows the form and state of the structures of the studied areas of the body. MRI and CT scan of the sinuses are complementary methods. Therefore, talking about which one is better is difficult. In any case, the word of the attending physician should be decisive. He, based on the medical data of the patient, can correctly choose the necessary procedure.

And only the patient’s categorical refusal is able to reverse this decision.

If fresh injuries occur in the face, the diagnosis is carried out only using a computer tomograph. It allows you to quickly get results and identify damage to blood vessels, bone and soft tissues. It is used when the diagnosis needs to be made urgently.

It should be noted that the level of safety studies using magnetic resonance imaging is higher. If the patient has recently been examined with x-ray radiation, then CT is not prescribed, so as not to harm the body.

Both MRI and computed tomography are complex procedures that are often not recommended. Therefore, you should not appoint them yourself or undergo a preventive examination. Such studies should be prescribed only by a doctor and only having good reasons for this.

Diseases of the nose and sinuses are one of the most common in the world. Statistics say that 90% of people at least once a year experience difficulties with the functioning of this body. By filtering and warming the air, it itself often undergoes infection and inflammation. Today, doctors have a large arsenal of instrumental diagnostics. Widespread magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). Each method gives its results. Consider the nuances of applying them in practice.

Magnetic resonance imaging

The essence of this diagnostic method is to obtain images of the studied parts of the human body, in which an electromagnetic field is used. Moreover, the results are obtained without internal intervention in the body. The device is large. The patient under study is placed on a special table, and then brought inside a large cylinder with magnets, where the diagnosis occurs.

The duration of the procedure is usually from 0.3 to 1 hour when the person is stationary. Information is displayed on a computer monitor. The method allows you to get a three-dimensional image of the investigated area, layered “sections” of the body. The picture can be rotated in the desired projection, enlarge the necessary fragment.

With the help of MRI, it is possible to distinguish healthy sinuses and adjacent soft tissues from damaged ones, to see fluid formations without X-ray scanning.

CT scan

Examination is carried out using x-rays. The radiation source is located in an annular case, inside of which is placed a table with a patient. The duration of the procedure is 10-15 minutes. The device makes a series of x-rays of the organs under examination at different angles from different points. The instrument settings allow you to change the thickness of the “sections” of the tissue under study within the required limits.

To increase the accuracy of diagnosis, a contrast agent is introduced into the body . This technique allows you to better study the vessels and hollow organs of the patient. All images are transferred to a computer, they are processed and saved there. The scan result is displayed on the monitor as a three-dimensional image. According to them, the doctor can diagnose inflammatory processes, injuries, injuries or vascular diseases, abnormalities in the tissues of the organ, tumor, study the bone structure.

What is common between types of diagnostics

Both diagnostic methods are today highly accurate.

When examining the sinuses, they give detailed information about the structure of the organ, help diagnose developmental abnormalities, identify the presence of diseases:

  • Inflammatory processes.
  • Sinusitis.
  • Sinusitis.
  • Acute chronic infections.
  • Polypov.
  • Anomalies in development.
  • Tumor
  • The presence of a foreign body.
  • Injuries and deformations of bone structures.
  • Cyst

Examinations are completely painless, there is no internal intervention in the body.

For both types, a contraindication to the procedure is the excess of the patient’s body weight greater than the permissible equipment parameters, inadequate behavior.

Comparative analysis of methods
  1. Different principle of action and level of sensitivity. In MRI, a magnetic field, a higher sensitivity level is used for diagnostics, and in CT – low-intensity X-rays. For this reason, the last type of examination is not recommended to be done often, so that the accumulation of radiation in the body does not occur.
  2. To increase the effectiveness, different contrast agents are used. In the first species it is safe, in the second it can cause allergies.
  3. The duration of the procedure. A CT scan is much faster.
  4. Various contraindications. In the first type, these are: pacemakers, hemostatic clips in the vessels of the brain, electronic implants of the middle ear, metal foreign bodies inside and outside the body, the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, the presence of tattoos with metal-containing paints on the body, claustrophobia. Computed tomography can not be performed on children during pregnancy, in the presence of an allergic reaction to iodine, which contains a contrast substance.
  5. The cost of examinations on MRI is much higher than on CT.
  6. The information content of the surveys is different when studying structures of different composition. Magnetic resonance imaging gives more accurate results when scanning mucous tissues, shows changes, pathologies, tumors. Computed tomography better reveals the structure and integrity of bone tissue, detects neoplasms that grow through the walls of the nasal cavities from neighboring anatomical sites.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *