Background: Ultrasonography is well-known for its application in medicine, and has been recently gaining importance for its use in the orofacial region. Aims and Objective: The present study aims to determine the efficacy of ultrasonography in diagnosing soft tissue swellings of the head and neck. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with the head and neck soft tissue swelling were included in the study and all were subjected to ultrasonography. Various findings were recorded such as shape, boundary, echo-intensity, ultrasound architecture, presence of necrosis, posterior echoes, ultrasound characteristic of lesion, and vascularity, and an ultrasonography diagnosis was made. After obtaining final diagnosis sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of the test was calculated in various types of swelling. Results: In case of an inflammatory swelling, ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 89.5%, PPV of 84.6%, NPV of 100%, and accuracy of 93.3%. In cystic swellings, ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, NPV of 95.8%, and accuracy of 96.67%. In nonodontogenic benign tumor, ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, NPV of 100%, and accuracy of 100%. In malignant swellings, ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, NPV of 96.2%, and accuracy of 96.67%. Conclusion: From the present study, it can be concluded that ultrasonography is highly accurate in diagnosing benign neoplasms, followed by soft tissue cystic swellings and malignant neoplasms, followed by inflammatory swellings of the head and neck region.
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