| Abstrakt: |
Objectives: This study aims to determine the factors that influence the quality of radiology reports of maxillofacial computed tomography (CT) scans from patients presenting to the emergency department who sustained mandible fractures. We discuss specific, pertinent details that were either included or excluded from the report that could potentially affect the operating surgeon's treatment plan. Methods: A retrospective chart review was completed for a total of 249 patients from 2008 through 2012 who sustained mandibular trauma and underwent multi-detector computed tomography scanning in the emergency department setting. The radiology report was analyzed for each patient for the presence or absence of the following data: degree of fracture displacement, inferior alveolar nerve, foramen or canal involvement, anatomic location of fracture(s), fracture type categorization (simple, compound, comminuted), presence or absence of teeth in line of fracture, and mention of temporomandibular joint. Results: Radiologists uniformly mention the anatomic location of mandible fractures (247/249, 99 %) and usually make mention of the degree of mandible fracture displacement (176/247, 71 %). The temporomandibular joint is mentioned about half the time (131/249, 52.6 %). Mention of nerve canal involvement in the fracture is most likely when only a maxillofacial CT is ordered (69/105, 65.7 %, p = 0.0433). Conclusions: More attention should be given to the clinically important characteristics of mandible fractures. A uniform approach for interpreting CT scans and a template for reporting them will improve the overall quality of communication between the radiologist and surgeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
Full text from SpringerLink