Cervical spine pneumatocysts in cone beam CT scan volumes: Looking beyond the Jaws

Background

Pneumatocysts are benign lesions often detected by accident during full-FOV CBCT imaging. They appear as tiny, well-circumscribed, radiolucent lesions with a sclerotic rim. Dentists are likely to view this lesion on CBCT scans because of the growing use of this imaging modality in dentistry to assess maxillofacial structures. Identifying the pathognomonic characteristics of this benign, innocuous lesion is critical to prevent pointless studies and patient alarm.

Objectives

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pneumatocysts in the cervical spine and correlate it with age and sex.

Methodology

Large field-of-view computed tomography (CBCT) volumes in the radiology archives (338 total scans) were screened for vertebral pneumatocysts. When observing pneumatocysts on the scan, the number of pneumatocysts and the vertebra in which they were present were noted.

Results

Among the 338 patients, eight had pneumatocysts. We found no sex correlation but a definite correlation with age; the prevalence of pneumatocysts also increased as age increased.

Conclusion

Pneumatocysts in the cervical spine are rare. In our eight cases, these intravertebral pneumatocysts were discovered as unintentional findings on CBCT scans performed for dentomaxillofacial diagnostic purposes. To our knowledge, few studies have investigated these lesions via CBCT.