The differentiation of the nasal bone foramens and the fractures of nasal bone with high-resolution CT

Objective: To study the CT features of nasal bone foramen and nasal bone fracture, and investigate the differential key points of them. Methods: visual observation was performed for 30 selected skull specimens of adults (60 nasal bones) (specimens group), then CT imaging was obtained for them with volume redering (VR) reconstruction (imaging group). The frequency of the nasal bone foramens, their size, shape and location were statistical analysed. Ferthermore, CT features of nasal bone foramen and nasal bone fracture were analyzed in 30 patients who were suspected having nasal bone fractures by clinicians. Results: Forty foramen shape nasal bone foramens were found in observation group, while 37 were obtained in imaging group. For patients, 19 cases were diagnosed as single fracture of nasal bone by non-spiral axial high-resolution CT images. When using both axial and multi-plane reformation (MPR) and VR images, 8 of 19 cases were diagnosed as single fracture, 5 were multiple fractures, 4 were normal nasal bone foramen, and 2 were normal variation. The other 11 cases that were diagnosed as multiple fractures by non-spiral axial HRCT images were demonstrated as 6 cases multiple fractures and 5 single fracture by combining axial images with MPR and VR images. The frequencies of foramen shape nasal bone foramen in specimens group and imaging group were 66.7% and 61.7%, respectively, and there were no significant differences between them (χ2=1.33, P>0.05). Conclusion: The nasal bone foramen is the normal anatomy, and to recognize the imaging findings of it can improve the diagnostic accuracy of nasal bone fracture. (authors)