Diagnostic value of bent-lever planes in detecting abnormality of the malleus-incus complex.

Objective. To retrospectively investigate the diagnostic value of the bent-lever planes in detecting abnormality of the malleus-incus complex. Study Design. Diagnostic test assessment. Setting. The study was conducted at the Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China. Subjects. Eighty-five ears in 74 patients with surgically proved abnormality of the malleus-incus complex. Materials and Methods. The bent-lever planes and direct axial images were reviewed by 2 radiologists. The radiologists assigned a value of abnormality or continuity to different parts of the malleus-incus complex. Differences in categorical data were evaluated with the McNemar test. The sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, and interobserver agreement were calculated. Results. There was no significant difference between bent-lever planes and direct axial images in identifying abnormality of the malleus-incus complex. The sensitivity ranged from 71.4% to 97.1%, and specificity ranged from 89.5% to 100.0%. The Youden index ranged from 0.609 to 0.971. The radiologists had almost perfect or substantial agreement in identifying the abnormality of different parts of the malleus-incus complex. Conclusion. The bent-lever planes do not add additional diagnostic value for experienced observers.