(146) Does Pulsatile Tinnitus Correlate with IIH Severity? A Radiographic Analysis

Monday, October 2, 2023

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM East Coast USA Time

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Co-Author(s)

Jonathan R. Widmeyer, BA

Medical Student
VCU SOM
Richmond, Virginia, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Jatin P. Vemuri, BS

Medical Student
VCU School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia, United States

Co-Author(s)

Jatin P. Vemuri, BS

Medical Student
VCU School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia, United States
AS

Aristides Sismanis, MD

Emeritus Professor
VCU Dept of Otolaryngology
Richmond, Virginia, United States
WF

Warren Felton, MD

VCU Dept. of Neuro-Ophthalmology, USA
YT

Yang Tang, MD

associate professor
VCU Dept. of Neuro-radiology
Richmond, Virginia, USA
MG

Mohammad Gharavi, MD

Assistant professor
VCU Dept. of Neuro-radiology
Richmond, Virginia, United States

Senior Author(s)

Daniel H. Coelho, MD

G. Douglas Hayden Professor
VCU Health Systems
Richmond, VA, United States

Disclosure(s):

Jonathan R. Widmeyer, BA: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Jatin P. Vemuri, BS: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Aristides Sismanis, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Mohammad Gharavi, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Daniel H. Coelho, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Introduction: Pulsatile tinnitus (PT) is a common symptom in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). It occurs in some, but not all patients with IIH. It remains unclear as to whether PT is a marker of severity of intracranial hypertension. One suggested marker of IIH severity is the number of abnormal findings seen on MRI. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference in the total number of abnormal MRI findings commonly found in IIH in those with and without PT.

Methods: A retrospective age-matched cohort study of patients with documented IIH (diagnosed by neuro-ophthalmologist) and MRI of the head was performed. Patients’ MRIs were assessed for 16 variables known to be associated with IIH (eg. pituitary displacement/emtpy sella, optic nerve tortuosity, transverse sinus stenosis, inferior cerebellar tonsils, arachnoid granulations, slit-like ventricles, etc.) by two blinded neuroradiologists. The total number of positive findings in each patient’s imaging was recorded, and an independent samples T-test was used to assess the difference in means between the PT+ and PT- cohorts.

Results: 40 patients met inclusion criteria, (20 with PT, 20 without PT). There was no significant difference in the number of positive MRI findings associated with IIH between the PT+ and PT- cohorts, 6.28 and 6.68 respectively.(p=.572)

Conclusions: The presence of PT is not correlated with the total number of intracranial abnormalities assessed on MRI. This study supports the mounting evidence to suggest that the presence of PT is not related to IIH severity.