Evaluation of using panoramic radiography and ultrasonography for diagnosing carotid artery calcifications

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of panoramic radiograph (PR) as a screening tool for the detection of calcified carotid atheroma (CCA) in comparison with Doppler ultrasonography (DU) examination.Materials and Methods: In this study, DU was performed for 52 patients who had carotid calcification or other differential diagnoses of carotid calcification on PR routine screening. The data relating to the presence or absence of calcified atheroma in DU and PR were evaluated using SPSS software.Results: In the 52 stated patients, CCA of 9 (18) patients was diagnosed in the PR. Significant differences in CCA between the two sexes were not found. Also, considerable differences between the left and right sides (P = 0/906) were not found. Moreover, the positive cases who are diagnosed using ultrasonography and PR were 2.25 and 6.5, respectively.Conclusion: PR method is not a good choice for the primary diagnosis method for the carotid artery calcifications due to its less positive diagnosing ratio compared to DU.