Longitudinal Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy of Panoramic Radiography in Oral Pathology

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this 5-year longitudinal study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of panoramic radiography (PR) in identifying oral pathology at a tertiary care facility. Methods: A retrospective review of patient files was done, encompassing those of patients who had PR for suspected oral lesions, followed by a biopsy. At various times, several diagnostic accuracy metrics were computed, such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Results: The research had 250 patients in total. In terms of identifying oral pathology, PR showed a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 90%. There were 80% and 92% PPV and NPV, respectively. With a computed DOR of 25, PR’s total discriminating power was found to be high. Conclusion: In summary, PR consistently demonstrates great diagnostic accuracy in identifying oral pathology at a tertiary care facility. These results confirm that PR is a useful screening technique for oral lesions in standard clinical practice. In order to overcome PR’s shortcomings and investigate methods for enhancing its diagnostic effectiveness, more investigation is necessary.

Keywords

• diagnostic accuracy
• longitudinal analysis
• oral pathology
• panoramic radiography
• tertiary care center