Assessment of Anteroposterior Diameter of Nasolacrimal Canal with Multidetector CT in a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: The nasolacrimal canal is an important structure. It morphologically varies throughout its length. The narrowest part of the canal is the key factor in the development of the primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction. This study was aimed to assess anteroposterior nasolacrimal canal diameter and study its variation by comparing the data with the gender of the patients.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the patients coming to the Chitwan Medical College, Nepal from January 2021 till June 2021. In total 200 eligible CT scans of patients were included. CT scan was performed using Somatom Definition Edge CT scan machine. The data were entered into Microsoft excel, later transferred into Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 16 and analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results: There were 200 participants in total in this study in which majority were males 126 (63.3%) male and 72 (36.4%) female participants. The mean age of the participants was 40.81±18.06 years. The measurement on the right side of both genders was more than the left side. In total the measurement on the right side (Mean ± SD (mm)) was 4.18±0.092 mm.

Conclusions: This study concludes the diameter of nasolacrimal canal differ by gender and the sides of individual. It was found to be more in females and on the right side of Nepalese.