Radiology, Vol 150, 403-407, Copyright © 1984 by Radiological Society of North America
Gas-CT cisternography for detection of small acoustic nerve tumors
LG Solti-Bohman, DL Magaram, WW Lo, CT Wade, RM Witten, FH Shimizu, EM McMonigle and AK Rao
Gas-CT cisternography is a simple and accurate procedure for detection of
small acoustic nerve tumors. Review of one of the largest series in a
single institution found that 98% of the studies clearly showed the
presence or absence of tumors. The diagnostic pitfalls of the small number
of studies in which significant errors were made, or could have been made,
are discussed. It is concluded that certain situations appear to call for
extra caution: (a) when the filling defect does not show a convex surface,
(b) when the amount of cisternal gas is marginal, and (c) when the canal is
small. In such situations careful attention to details and healthy
skepticism may avert potential errors.
