Comparative evaluation of ultrasonography and lateral radiography in nasal fractures diagnosis.

BACKGROUND

Nasal fractures are the most common type of trauma fracture. Conventional radiography is the primary method of choice. Ultrasonography is used as a new and non-invasive method for this purpose. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic values of ultrasonography with nasal X-ray.

METHODS

This was a prospective study which was conducted during 2018-2019 at Bouali hospital, Sari, northern Iran. 130 patients who met our criteria enrolled our study. All patients underwent nasal X-ray and ultrasonography on a day of trauma. The physical examination during the reduction in operation room considered as gold standard for nasal bone fracture. The sensitivity, specificity, precision, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values, along with 95% confidence intervals, were determined by SPSS.

RESULTS

The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values, and precision of nasal X-ray were all reported to be 100% when compared to physical examination (the gold standard). Ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 78.13%, a specificity of 100%, a PPV of 100%, an NPV of 61.82%, and a precision of 83.85% in comparison to physical examination (the gold standard).

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest that ultrasonography can be utilized as a main diagnostic tool in the identification of nasal bone fractures in the vast majority of cases, avoiding the unwanted dangers and problems of X-rays. This is especially critical for expecting mothers and children.