ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare D-speed film, E-speed film, and the Soredex Digora system with respect to the detection of periradicular pathosis. STUDY DESIGN: Radiographic images of 100 cadaver jaws were made with E-speed film, D-speed film, and the Soredex Digora. Each set of 100 images was interpreted by four observers, with 30 days separating each of three viewing sessions from the next. The presence or absence of pathologic (inflammatory) periradicular bone resorption was determined by histologic examination of the samples. The observer performance was compared with the true histologic findings and evaluated with receiver operating characteristic and corrected receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found in diagnostic performance among the three radiographic techniques. In addition, no imaging technique was a good indicator of pathosis as determined by histologic analysis. CONCLUSION: Under the conditions of this study, it was determined that D-speed film, E-speed film, and the Soredex Digora were equivalent diagnostic imaging modalities with regard to the detection of pathologic periradicular bone resorption. No technique predictably indicated inflammatory resorption.
Subject(s)
Alveolar Bone Loss/diagnostic imaging , Periapical Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Radiography, Dental, Digital , Tooth Root/diagnostic imaging , X-Ray Film , Alveolar Bone Loss/pathology , Cadaver , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Humans , Observer Variation , Periapical Diseases/pathology , Periapical Periodontitis/diagnostic imaging , Periapical Periodontitis/pathology , ROC Curve , Tooth Root/pathology , X-Ray Film/classificationABSTRACT
Computer-based, electronic dental record keeping involves complex issues of patient privacy and the dental practitioner's ethical duty of confidentiality. Federal and state law is responding to the new legal issues presented by computer technology. Authenticating the electronic record in terms of ensuring its reliability and accuracy is essential in order to protect its admissibility as evidence in legal actions. Security systems must be carefully planned to limit access and provide for back-up and storage of dental records. Carefully planned security systems protect the patient from disclosure without the patient's consent and also protect the practitioner from the liability that would arise from such disclosure. Human errors account for the majority of data security problems. Personnel security is assured through pre-employment screening, employment contracts, policies, and staff education. Contracts for health information systems should include provisions for indemnification and ensure the confidentiality of the system by the vendor.
Subject(s)
Confidentiality , Dental Records/legislation & jurisprudence , Medical Records Systems, Computerized/legislation & jurisprudence , Computer User Training , Humans , Quality Control , Software Validation , United StatesSubject(s)
Analog-Digital Conversion , Radiographic Image Enhancement/methods , Radiography, Dental/instrumentation , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation , Voice , Computer Storage Devices , Electronic Data Processing , Humans , Radiography, Dental/methods , Speech , Tape Recording , Terminology as Topic , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
This is a case report of an IgA-deficient adolescent male (14 years old) presenting with coexisting adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyp of the rectosigmoid, and a primary lymphoma of the cecum (large-cell, histiocytic type). A 14-year-old sister of the patient had died of gastric carcinoma. Her serum immunoglobulins were not measured. The literature regarding the coexisting primary malignant lymphoma and adenocarcinoma of the colon, as well as neoplasia associated with IgA deficiency, is reviewed and pertinent literature discussed.
