Prevalence Of Calcified Carotid Atheromas Research Articles

Relationship between calcified carotid atheromas in digital panoramic radiographs and underlying systemic diseases in implant patients.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between calcified carotid atheromas (CCA) detected on digital panoramic radiographs and underlying systemic diseases. Panoramic radiographs and underlying systemic diseases of retained mandibular denture implants in 265 patients (56 males, 209 females) aged over 50 years were retrospectively evaluated at the Dental Unit of Prasat Neurological Institute, Bangkok, Thailand. The mean age of the patients was 71 ± 7.1 years. The prevalence of CCA was 38.49%. The major underlying systemic diseases were hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), respectively. No relationship was found among these four systemic diseases in detecting CCA on panoramic radiographs. Similar findings were also observed in patients with only one systemic disease versus in combination with other diseases. The presence of CCA on dental panoramic radiographs was not found to be related to the presence of underlying systemic diseases, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and CVD.

The prevalence of calcified carotid atheromas on the panoramic radiographs of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Objective Individuals with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) often die from heart failure without a transplant. Of those who do receive a transplant, a significant number suffer a perioperative stroke, although the cause is often in doubt. Our study attempts to determine whether the prevalence of calcified carotid artery atheromas, a known cause of stroke, is greater on the panoramic radiographs of individuals with DCM than it is among controls. Study design Twenty-seven persons [mean age 62.3 years] enrolled in the UCLA Cardiac Transplantation Program were provided a panoramic radiograph. An age-matched, atherogenic risk-matched cohort of 54 patients free of DCM served as controls. The radiographs of patients in each group were examined for the presence of calcified carotid atheromas. Results Nine of the 27 patients with DCM had calcified atheromas, whereas only 2 of the 54 patients in the control group had such lesions. This difference was statistically significant ( P<.001). Conclusions Panoramic radiographs may be helpful in identifying some DCM patients with occult carotid artery atherosclerosis who may be at risk for a subsequent stroke.

Image characteristics of digital panoramic radiography—potential for computer-aided diagnosis of calcified carotid atheromatous plaque

A retrospective analysis of panoramic radiographs from patients with head and neck cancer, taken prior to radiation therapy, revealed a prevalence of carotid calcifications of 12.6% in men aged 50–59 years, but only 3.3% in women of the same age. By age 70–79 years, the prevalence of calcified carotid atheromas was similar for both genders. Evaluation of the image layer characteristics of a prototype Instrumentarium OP 100D digital panoramic X-ray machine shows this unit to be suitable for detection of calcifications, within the carotid artery at the region of the bifurcation.