Peleg M, Heyman Z, Ardekian L, Taicher S
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1998 Oct;56(10):1129-31; discussion 1132. doi: 10.1016/s0278-2391(98)90751-0.
This study examined the value of ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool in the treatment of superficial acute odontogenic fascial space infections.
The study group consisted of 50 patients in whom both radiographic and sonographic examinations, as well as a needle aspiration, were performed.
Purulent fluid was aspirated in 22 of the 50 patients. Six patients diagnosed as suffering from cellulitis had a repeated ultrasonography scan. In four, abscess formation was diagnosed on the third day.
Ultrasonography is an effective diagnostic tool to confirm abscess formation in the superficial fascial spaces and is highly predictable in detecting the stage of infection.
