title: Factors influencing the outcome of treatment in patients referred to a temporomandibular joint clinic.
abstract: A retrospective review was performed in 350 consecutive patients referred for functional disturbances of the masticatory system. Two and one-half years after the first visit, the records of all patients were examined for clinical findings, diagnosis, and observations related to treatment. Number of visits, length of the treatment period, and evaluation of signs and symptoms at last visit (factors which showed a wide variation) were analyzed for correlation with signs and symptoms at first visit and some background factors. A total of 50 variables were considered. The number of visits and length of treatment indicated the severity of signs and symptoms at the first visit. Multiple regression analysis showed that tenderness on muscle palpation at first visit was the most important of the independent variables. About one-fourth of the variance of number of visits and length of treatment could be explained (R2 = 0.28 and 0.27, respectively), while the corresponding value for the variance of the evaluation at last visit was 15% (R2 = 0.15). The results tend to emphasize the heterogeneity of patients with functional disturbances of the masticatory system and the difficulty of prognosticating the outcome of treatment in such patients, even when attempts are made to divide them into subgroups.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors