Significance of Calcifications in Projection of Carotid Arteries on Orthopantomography for Detection of Carotid Artery Stenosis/Znacaj prikaza vrijednosti kalcifikacija u projekciji karotidnih arterija na ortopantomogramu u otkrivanju stenoze karotidnih arterija

• Published in: Acta stomatologica croatica Vol. 56; no. 3; p. 257
• Main Authors: Basuga, Mia Smoljan, Marelic, Marko, Badel, Tomislav, Skrinjar, Ivana, BozBrzak, ana Loncar, Klemencic, Antonio, Bradic, Mirjana Flegaric, Prenc, Matea, Zadravec, Dijana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sveuciliste U Zagrebu 01-09-2022
• Subjects: Hypertension; Stroke (Disease); Croatia
• ISSN: 0001-7019
• DOI: 10.15644/asc56/3/4

Introduction: Orthopantomography is amongst the most commonly used dental imaging modalities. Calcifications in the projection of carotids on orthopantomographs are found in 3-15% of general population and commonly represent calcified atherosclerotic plaques. Carotid atherosclerotic changes are one of the most frequent causes of stroke, which is the second most common cause of death and the leading cause of disability globally. Our aim was to determine the relationship between calcifications in the projection of carotids on orthopantomographs, carotid stenosis and stroke, and the correlation between stroke risk factors, calcifications on orthopantomographs and the degree of carotid stenosis. Materials and methods: Doppler ultrasound and brain MRI were performed in 41 patients with unilateral or bilateral calcifications on orthopantomographs. Anamnestic data relevant to stroke risk were gathered. Results: Significant stenosis >50% was found in almost 15% of our patients. There was a significant correlation between hypertension and carotid calcifications. No statistically significant correlation between calcifications and significant stenosis was found. Patients with previous stroke were approximiately 5 years older than those without stroke. Conclusion: Preliminary results show no statistically significant correlation between calcifications on orthopantomography and significant carotid stenosis, but further investigation is needed. Uvod: Ortopantomografja jedna je od najcesce koristenih slikovnih metoda u dentalnoj medicini. Kalcifkacije u projekciji karotidnih arterija na ortopantomogramima nalaze se kod 3 do 15 % opce populacije i diferencijalnodijagnosticki su kalcifcirani aterosklerotski plakovi. Aterosklerotske promjene karotidnih arterija medu najcescim su uzrocima mozdanoga udara pa je ta bolest diljem svijeta drugi najcesci uzrok smrti i vodeci uzrok invalidnosti. Cilj ovoga rada bio je utvrditi odnos izmedu kalcifikacija u projekciji karotidnih arterija na ortopantomogramima, zatim izmedu karotidne stenoze i mozdanoga udara te korelaciju izmedu cimbenika rizika za mozdani udar, kalcifikacija na ortopantomogramima i stupnja karotidne stenoze. Materijal i metode: Doplerski ultrazvuk karotidnih arterija i MR mozga ucinjeni su cetrdeset i jednomu pacijentu s jednostranim ili obostranim kalcifikacijama na ortopantomogramima. Prikupljeni su anamnesticki podatci o rizicnim cimbenicimaza mozdani udar. Rezultati: Signifikantna stenoza > 50 % nadena je kod gotovo 15 % pacijenata. Uocena je znacajna korelacija izmedu hipertenzije i karotidnih kalcifikacija. Izmedu kalcifikacija i signifikantne stenoze nije pronadena statisticki znacajna korelacija. Pacijenti s prethodnim mozdanim udarom bili su prosjecno 5 godina stariji od onih koji nisu dozivjeli taj mozdanozilni incident. Zakljucak: Preliminarni rezultati nisu pokazali statisticki znacajnu korelaciju izmedu kalcifikacija na ortopantomogramima i signifikantne stenoze karotidnih arterija, no potrebna su daljnja istrazivanja.