Ek Berit, Zweig Stefan, Roges Ramon G, Berdan Yaara, Roges Rafael A, Abulhamael Ayman, Kutbi Abrar, Alqutub Alaa W, Alothmani Osama S, Siddiqui Amna Y
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Dent. 2023 Dec 19;2023:2098629. doi: 10.1155/2023/2098629. eCollection 2023.
Vertical root fractures (VRFs) typically have a poor prognosis with an extraction or occasionally root amputation as the preferred treatment. VRFs have been considered an epidemic, motivating changes in the access openings, as well as in the preparation and disinfection protocols of endodontic treatment. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of VRFs by tracking cases in both a University Endodontic Program (UEP) and a private endodontics practice (PP). We also evaluated changes in prevalence during COVID-19 along with the alterations in the frequency of cases diagnosed by clinical and radiographic signs which were later confirmed by direct visualization compared to those in which the suspicion was based on clinical and radiographic signs alone.
This retrospective study looked at the prevalence of VRF in patient records at UEP and a PP. Data for the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 time periods were extracted from patient records and referral letters then compared. Data for suspected and confirmed prevalence were compared.
The UEP group included 21,156 patients while the PP group comprised 7,209 patients. The prevalence of VRFs in the former cohort was 1.80%, while 2.62% of the latter cohort exhibited VRFs with a combined total of 2.01%. The combined total prevalence of VRFs pre-COVID-19 was 1.72%, increasing from 2.1% to 3.82% during COVID-19 ( < 0.0001). The same applied to suspected cases for both clinical settings. The increase in confirmed cases between the two periods was statistically significant for the UEP group (=0.0202) but it was insignificant for the PP group (=0.0721).
The combined prevalence for VRFs was 2.01% for all years denying the claim that VRF is a pandemic phenomenon. COVID-19 period saw almost a double increase in the prevalence of VRF compared to pre-COVID-19 era. This was consequently associated with a significant increase in the number of suspected VRF cases.
垂直根折（VRF）通常预后较差，首选治疗方法为拔牙，偶尔也会进行牙根切除术。VRF被认为是一种流行病，促使牙髓治疗的开口、预备和消毒方案发生了改变。因此，我们旨在通过追踪大学牙髓治疗项目（UEP）和私人牙髓治疗诊所（PP）的病例来评估VRF的患病率。我们还评估了COVID-19期间患病率的变化，以及与仅基于临床和影像学征象怀疑的病例相比，通过直接可视化后来确诊的临床和影像学征象诊断病例频率的变化。
这项回顾性研究观察了UEP和PP患者记录中VRF的患病率。从患者记录和转诊信中提取COVID-19之前和COVID-19期间的数据，然后进行比较。比较疑似患病率和确诊患病率的数据。
UEP组包括21156名患者，而PP组包括7209名患者。前一组中VRF的患病率为1.80%，而后一组中有2.62%的患者出现VRF，合并总患病率为2.01%。COVID-19之前VRF的合并总患病率为1.72%，在COVID-19期间从2.1%增加到3.82%（<0.0001）。两种临床环境下的疑似病例情况相同。两个时期之间确诊病例的增加对UEP组具有统计学意义（P=0.0202），但对PP组无统计学意义（P=0.0721）。
所有年份VRF的合并患病率为2.01%，否定了VRF是一种大流行现象的说法。与COVID-19之前的时代相比，COVID-19期间VRF的患病率几乎翻了一番。因此，这与疑似VRF病例数量的显著增加有关。
