Evaluation of ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool in the management of XXXX : A clinical study.

@entity1 @entity135 @entity4 @entity2688 @entity281
INTRODUCTION: Superficial @entity281 represent a significant amount of the dental problems that present to hospital. Determining whether an odontogenic swelling is a @entity2688 or abscess is difficult, but important as both may require different treatments. The use of an ultrasound may aid in differentiating @entity2688 and abscess. This study was done to compare the accuracy of clinical examination alone versus ultrasonography (USG) in the diagnosis of @entity2688 and abscess in symptomatic @entity1 with a diagnosis of superficial @entity281 . MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty @entity1 (1870 years) diagnosed as superficial @entity281 by clinical and radiographic examinations were included in the study and @entity1 with significant medical conditions were excluded. The provisional clinical diagnosis was made after a thorough history was taken and clinical examination was performed to determine if the swelling was a @entity2688 or abscess. @entity4 was then evaluated using the ultrasonic transducer which was placed over the swelling to aid the diagnosis which was again recorded. An incision and drainage procedure was performed after the administration of local anesthesia. The success of the ultrasound intervention versus clinical examination was based on whether frank exudation was detected during incision and drainage of such swellings. RESULTS: The statistical analysis found that USG is a valuable diagnostic aid for detection of abscess or @entity2688 in @entity135 . INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The findings of this prospective analysis indicate that there was statistical difference between clinical examination alone and USG in making the correct diagnosis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, negative predictive, and accuracy were not similar for all methods tested. From the results of this study, ultrasound is recommended as an adjunct to clinical examination in differentiating between @entity2688 and abscess.
