Facial soft tissue thicknesses in Bulgarian adults: relation to sex, body mass index and bilateral asymmetry.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study is to measure the facial soft tissue thicknesses (STTs) in Bulgarians, to evaluate the relation of the STTs to the nutritional status, sex and bilateral asymmetry, and to examine the correlations between the separate STTs as well as between the STTs and body weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). In the present study, the facial STTs were measured on computed tomography scans of the head of Bulgarian adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The STTs were measured at 7 midline and 9 bilateral landmarks. The measurements were performed in the free software InVesalius in the axial and sagittal planes. The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, median and coefficient of variation were reported for the STT at each landmark according to the sex and BMI category. The BMI, sex and bilateral differences were assessed for statistical significance. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to assess the strength and direction of the relationships between the STTs and body height, weight and BMI, as well as between separate STTs. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The facial soft tissues in Bulgarian adults changed in accordance with the nutritional status of the individual and in both sexes all STTs augmented with the increasing BMI. For both normal and overweight BMI categories, males had more soft tissue at the majority of facial points than females, as the only exceptions were observed in the cheek zone, where STTs were thicker in females. Significant bilateral differences were observed in either sex and BMI category. Stronger correlations were established for the STTs in the jaw region and between the cheek and jaw soft tissues. Besides, the correlations between the homologous bilateral landmarks were among the strongest ones.

Cutting down the radiation dose on CT urography: how it is done and what results are received?

Computed tomography urography (CTU) is a very detailed and powerful method of investigating the urinary tract, but an individual approach to each patient is recommended considering also the radiation dose. This article aims to present the initial experience from the diagnosis of urinary tract diseases and congenital variants in the anatomy of the urinary system using low-kV protocols. The image quality and patient dose in CTU were compared when replacing the standard 120-kV protocol with two different low-kV protocols. Totally, 91 patients (41 women and 55 men) with mean age 56.4 were studied with three different low-dose protocols. The patients underwent an unenhanced and excretory low-dose phases and standard corticomedullary and nephrographic phases. Effective dose was reduced by more than 65 % using the 100-kV protocol and by more than 76 % with introduction of 80-kV protocol. At the same time, patient images obtained with the new low-kV protocols maintained their diagnostic quality.

Micronucleus test in buccal epithelium cells from patients subjected to panoramic radiography.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the possible genotoxic effect of radiation exposure for dental diagnostic purposes as measured by the formation of micronuclei. METHODS: The micronucleus test was applied to buccal epithelium cells, which are target cells for dental radiography. Specimens of exfoliated buccal cells were collected from patients subjected to panoramic radiography. Samples were obtained from 32 patients, 12 male and 20 female, aged from 24 years to 73 years, before and 10+/-2 days after panoramic radiation exposure. RESULTS: No significant increase in the frequency of cells with micronuclei and total number of micronuclei after panoramic tomography was detected. Mean values of buccal cells with micronuclei+/-standard deviation (SD) before and after radiation examination were 2.34+/-1.49% and 2.81+/-1.64%, respectively. A significant correlation between the age of investigated subjects and the initial frequency of micronuclei in buccal cells was observed (r=0.60, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Panoramic radiographic examination does not induce micronuclei in target buccal epithelium cells.