Acute periapical dental abscesses and increased risk for extracranial carotid artery aneurysms

Abstract

Aim: To assess the prevalence of acute periapical abscesses (PAs) in patients with a history of extracranial carotid artery aneurysms (ECAA). Materials and methods: History of acute PAs and ECAA diagnosis was retrieved by searching the appropriate query in the database. All cases were diagnosed for acute PAs by calibrated dentists for patients admitted to urgent care. The odds ratio (OR) for the prevalence of acute PAs and its association with history of ECAA were then calculated. Results: The prevalence of acute PAs in patients with a history ECAA was significantly higher as compared to the general hospital patient population (p < 0.0001). The OR was 5.5. Females were more affected than males by 1.7 folds (p < 0.001). Whites were more affected than African Americans by 1.6 folds (p < 0.00001). Conclusions: The high prevalence of acute PAs in patients with a history of ECAA may suggest an association between these two conditions warranting a thorough medical examination.

Keywords

• aneurysm
• apical abscess
• carotid artery
• endodontics
• periapical abscess