A comparative study of the radiological diagnosis of postoperative maxillary cyst.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the diagnostic accuracy for the postoperative maxillary cyst (POMC) of panoramic in combination with Waters' radiography with computed tomography (CT) and of oral and maxillofacial radiologists with non-specialists.

STUDY DESIGN

Nineteen cases of POMC and 19 of postoperative changes were assessed using panoramic in combination with Waters' radiographs and CT by five oral and maxillofacial radiologists and five non-specialists on a five-point scale. The areas under the ROC curves were analysed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test to determine any differences in diagnostic accuracy between the two methods and between the two groups.

RESULTS

The diagnostic accuracy of CT was higher than that of combined panoramic and Waters' radiographs for the oral and maxillofacial radiologists (P < 0.05), but not for the non-specialists (P > 0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of the oral and maxillofacial radiologists for each method was higher than that of the non-specialists group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

CT improves the evaluation of POMC. Radiological training and experience leads to more accurate diagnoses.