Detecting cholesteatoma with non-echo planar (HASTE) diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of half-Fourier-acquisition single-shot turbo-spin-echo (HASTE) diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI) in the detection of cholesteatoma.

Study Design: Prospective blinded comparative study.

Setting: London teaching hospital.

Subjects And Methods: Subjects comprised 32 consecutive patients with suspected primary or residual cholesteatoma. HASTE DWMRI was performed on all patients an average of three months before mastoid surgery and evaluated for the presence of cholesteatoma. Radiological findings were correlated with intraoperative findings.

Results: HASTE DWMRI accurately predicted the presence or absence of cholesteatoma in 30 of 32 patients. Residual cholesteatoma was correctly diagnosed by DWMRI in 12 of 14 cases and correctly excluded in six, with two false-negative results caused by movement artifact and keratin pearls less than 2 mm. All primary cholesteatomas were correctly identified. Sensitivity and specificity were 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75-0.99) and 1.00 (95% CI 0.54-1.0), respectively, whereas positive and negative predictive values were 1.00 (95% CI 0.86-1.00) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.35-0.97), respectively.

Conclusion: Our study supports the increasing but small body of evidence that non-echo-planar imaging (i.e., HASTE) DWMRI performs well in the detection of cholesteatoma. We propose that HASTE DWMRI should be performed on all patients before their second-look surgery to provide valuable information to the operating surgeon.