Evaluation of calcified carotid artery atheromas detected by panoramic radiograph among 80-year-olds.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the incidence among 80-year-olds of calcified carotid artery atheromas (CCAAs) as detected on panoramic radiographs. The relationship between CCAAs and general and oral health was also evaluated.


METHODS
Six hundred and fifty-nine panoramic radiographs (262 males, 397 females), obtained from 80-year-old residents of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, were used for evaluation of CCAAs.


RESULTS
Of 659 panoramic radiographs, 33 (5%) were noted to have CCAAs. These appeared as a radiopaque nodular mass or masses adjacent to or just below the intervertebral space between C3 and C4. CCAAs were found in 8 males and 25 females. There were marginally significant differences between males and females in CCAAs (P = 0.06). Seventy-four percent of CCAAs were detected in the right side. There appeared to be very little relationship between CCAAs and general and oral health.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study gives further support to the idea of using panoramic radiographs to detect CCAAs. Therefore, we feel that panoramic radiographs should be evaluated not only for pathosis of the teeth and jaws, but also for other incidental findings, especially in the soft-tissue region of the neck. The findings from this study provide potentially life-saving information especially for those elderly people who are at risk for stroke.
Kyushu Dental College, Department of Dental Radiology, Kitakyushu, Japan. t-ohba@kyu-dent.ac.jp
Takeshi
T
Ohba
Yutaka
Y
Takata
Toshihiro
T
Ansai
Yasuhiro
Y
Morimoto
Tatsurou
T
Tanaka
Shinji
S
Kito
Shuji
S
Awano
Sumio
S
Akifusa
Tadamichi
T
Takehara
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D002784:Cholesterol