High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Temporomandibular Joint Low Agreement with Clinical Diagnosis in Asymptomatic Females

Milica Jeremic Knezevic; Aleksandar Knezevic; Jasmina Boban; Aleksandra Maletin; Bojana Milekic; Daniela Djurovic Koprivica; Tatjana Puskar; Robert Semnic

doi:10.3390/diagnostics13121986

Diagnostics (Jun 2023)

High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Temporomandibular Joint Low Agreement with Clinical Diagnosis in Asymptomatic Females

Milica Jeremic Knezevic,
Aleksandar Knezevic,
Jasmina Boban,
Aleksandra Maletin,
Bojana Milekic,
Daniela Djurovic Koprivica,
Tatjana Puskar,
Robert Semnic

Affiliations

Milica Jeremic Knezevic: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Aleksandar Knezevic: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Jasmina Boban: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Aleksandra Maletin: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Bojana Milekic: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Daniela Djurovic Koprivica: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Tatjana Puskar: Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Robert Semnic: Department of Radiology, Upssala University Hospital, 752 36 Upssala, Sweden

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13121986
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 12
p. 1986

Abstract

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(1) Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the agreement between a clinical diagnosis based on research diagnostic criteria/temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD) and high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of temporomandibular joints (TMJs) in asymptomatic females. (2) Methods: A prospective study on 100 females (200 TMJs) was performed, using clinical examinations (RDC/TMD) and same-day MRIs of TMJs on a 3T MR unit. The inclusion criteria were as follows: females, age > 18, the presence of upper and lower incisors, and an understanding of the Serbian language. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and ANOVA with a post hoc Tukey test for differences among the patient subgroups was performed. The agreement between the clinical and MRI findings was determined using Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k p ≤ 0.05. (3) Results: Normal findings were observed in 86.7%, disc dislocation (DD) was observed in 9.2%, and arthralgia/osteoarthritis/osteoarthrosis was observed in 2.6% of TMJs using RDC/TMD. On the MRI, normal findings were observed in 50.5%, disc dislocation was observed in 16.3%, and arthralgia/osteoarthritis/osteoarthrosis was observed in 23.5% of TMJs. The anterior DD with reduction showed fair agreement of the clinical and MRI findings (k = 0.240, p p < 0.001). Both showed high specificity (94.9% and 99.4%) but low sensitivity (24.2% and 25.0%). The sensitivity in osteoarthritic changes was low (4.8%), but the specificity remained high (96.2%). (4) Conclusions: The sensitivity of the clinical examination remains low compared with 3T MRI, especially in osteoarthritic changes and anterior DD with reduction. However, the number of false positive diagnoses using RDC/TMD is low in asymptomatic patients. RDC/TMD remains a sensible method for establishing a clinical diagnosis and avoiding the overtreatment of asymptomatic patients.

Published in Diagnostics

ISSN: 2075-4418 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General)
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/diagnostics

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