Evaluation of carotid artery atheromatous plaques using digital panoramic radiographs with Doppler sonography as the ground truth.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to determine whether digital panoramic radiography is a reliable method to detect calcified carotid artery atheromatous plaques (CCAAP) as compared to ultrasonography.


METHODS
Digital panoramic radiographs were obtained from 50 patients who also underwent carotid ultrasound examination. The images were interpreted by trained maxillofacial radiologist for the presence or absence of calcified atheromatous plaques. The extent of carotid calcification on carotid ultrasonography was determined by a trained sonologist which was considered as gold standard assessment.


RESULTS
Digital panoramic radiographs had sensitivity of 76% and specificity of 98.66% in determining calcified carotid artery atheromatous plaques. There was a high level of agreement between diagnoses, with a kappa value of 0.8.


CONCLUSIONS
To conclude, digital panoramic radiographs had good sensitivity and high specificity in detecting calcified carotid artery atheromatous plaques. If properly trained, dentists can detect such plaques and can refer patients to physician for timely medical treatment.
Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, CSMSS Dental College & Hospital, Aurangabad, India.
Neha
N
Khambete
Department of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, MGM Dental College & Hospital, Navi Mumbai, India.
Rahul
R
Kumar
Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, Vasantdada Patil Dental College & Hospital, Sangli, India.
Mukund
M
Risbud
Department of Radiology, Al-Ameen Medical College, Bijapur, India.
Anil
A
Joshi
Calcified carotid artery atheromas; Digital imaging; Panoramic radiography; Ultrasonography