Sinonasal Angiomatous Polyp: Evaluation With 2-Phase Helical Computed Tomography

Sinonasal angiomatous polyp (SAP) is a rare benign nontumorous lesion and previously considered lack of characteristic computed tomography (CT) findings. This study aimed to evaluate 2-phase helical CT for characterization of SAP. Twelve patients with pathologically confirmed SAP underwent 2-phase helical CT preoperatively. After injection of 80 mL contrast material at a rate of 3 mL/s, early and delayed phases were obtained with delays of 30 and 120 s, respectively. The degree and pattern of enhancement were visually analyzed. The attenuation changes were also analyzed quantitatively by measuring CT values and compared with those of the internal maxillary artery (IMA). All 12 cases showed vessel-like marked heterogeneous enhancement at both early and delayed phases. An irregular linear, nodular, and patchy enhancement pattern was found at the early phase, and enlarged and fused together, that is, progressive enhancement pattern was found at the delayed phase. There was no significant difference between the CT values of SAP and those of the IMA at the plain, arterial phase, and delayed phase (53 ± 6 Hounsfield units [HU] vs 56 ± 7 HU, 187 ± 56 HU vs 209 ± 71 HU, and 143 ± 22 HU vs 139 ± 19 HU, respectively, P = 0.361, 0.429, and 0.613, respectively). Vessel-like marked heterogeneous enhancement was a characteristic CT feature of SAP, and progressive enhancement on 2-phase helical CT could further convince the diagnosis.