Assessing the abilities of senior otolaryngology residents and graduated otolaryngologists in recognizing skull base elements in axial CT scan: proposing a new method for differentiating superior orbital fissure and optic canal

Background and objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of recognizing some important elements of the skull base in axial CT-scan cuts, including the optic canal (OC), superior orbital fissure (SOF), vidian canal (VC), foramen rotundum (FR), jugular foramen (JF) and hypoglossal canal (HC). Methods In this study, 25 otolaryngology residents and 25 recently graduated otolaryngologists were evaluated in terms of their recognition of skull base elements, using 30 axial CT-scan cuts. Two months later, the exam related to skull base CT scans was taken in groups after a brief anatomy courses for otolaryngology residents. Results The percentage of correct answers from otolaryngology residents regarding OC, SOF, VC, FR, JF, and HC in the first exam were 74 ± 26, 47 ± 34, 65 ± 30, 41 ± 38, 58 ± 26, and 68 ± 32, respectively. The correct answer for each element was similar between groups, and the differences were not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). p value for the differences observed regarding the percentage of correct answers for the second exam between trained otolaryngology residents and recent otolaryngology graduates regarding OC and JF was no significant ( p > 0.05) but significant for the other elements with better result in trained otolaryngology residents and most for SOF ( p > 0.0001). Conclusion This study showed that the ability of recognition for the mentioned elements in axial CT-scan cuts was low among otolaryngology residents and graduated otolaryngologists. The proposed novel method for distinguishing SOF from OC had a powerful and long-lasting effect on trainee.