Inflammatory Markers as Predictors for Prolonged Duration of Hospitalization in Maxillofacial Infections.

Despite the progress made in diagnosing and treating maxillofacial infections, the course of infection can be unpredictable, leading to severe complications, prolonged hospitalization, and substantial financial costs to health care services. It is important to determine whether various serum inflammatory marker levels on admission may predict a prolonged hospital stay in these patients. To analyze the role of CRP, white blood cell count (WBC), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting the prolonged duration of hospitalization in maxillofacial infections, we performed a retrospective study by collecting paper records data from 108 patients who met our inclusion criteria. The patients were divided into two groups according to the duration of hospitalization (group A < 5 days and group B ≥ 5 days). The predictor variables were CRP, WBC, and NLR, and the outcome variable was the duration of hospitalization. This study confirmed a positive linear correlation (p < 0.001) between the predictors and the outcome variable. The optimal cut-off values for WBC are 11,030 white blood cells/µL and 63 mg/L for CRP. Levels that exceed these optimal values predict a duration of hospitalization of over (≥) 5 days. Serum WBC and CRP on admission may predict the duration of hospitalization in patients with MFI.

Ameloblastoma of the Mandible in a 16-Year-Old Female-Case Report.

Ameloblastoma is a benign epithelial tumor that has aggressive, destructive and unlimited growth potential, having the capacity for recurrence and malignant transformation. Regarding the symptoms and clinical signs, the presentation of ameloblastoma is poor. In children and young people, ameloblastoma can be difficult to diagnose, because it mimics other benign lesions. Its diagnosis requires a combination of imaging data, histopathological analysis and molecular tests. The methods of treatment consist of radical surgery (segmental resection) and conservative treatments (enucleation with bone curettage). The particularity of the presented case is represented by the late request for medical consultation, a direct consequence of the measures implemented to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

The Predictive Value of Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index and Symptom Severity Score for Sepsis and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome in Odontogenic Infections.

Acute Odontogenic Infections (OI) are the leading cause of emergency visits and hospitalizations to the maxillofacial department, and may induce systemic inflammatory complications. Increasing numbers of OI patients need extended hospitalizations, various treatments, and intensive care. The Symptom Severity score (SS) helps doctors assess the likelihood of infection and admission complications. Systemic Immune-inflammation Index (SII) is a biomarker-based inflammatory prognosis score. It was hypothesized that greater SII and SS values might suggest a higher risk for sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Therefore, this research aims to discover whether SII and SS scores can reliably predict odontogenic infection severity and prognosis, and if they can be used to predict the development of SIRS and sepsis in OI using admission features. The study was designed as a retrospective cohort, with patients' data being retrieved from medical records between January 2017 to April 2022. A total of 108 OI patients were matched 1:1 as low-severity and high-severity groups. Most individuals with severe infections had diabetes and smoking as comorbidities. Severe patients had longer hospital stays (12.0 days vs. 4.1 days), although mortality rates did not significantly differ. A total of 11.1% lower-severity patients (Group A) had SIRS during hospitalization, compared to Group B with 25.9%. Group A had 7.4% of patients that developed sepsis compared to Group B's rate of 22.2%. The correlation between OI's SS and SII index values was positive and statistically significant (r = 0.6314). The total SII index mean was 1303, whereas the mean values by severity were 696.3 in Group A and 2312.4 in Group B. Group A's mean SS score was 6.1, while Group B's was 13.6. According to the calculated AUC plots, SII and SS scores were accurate predictors of sepsis and SIRS development using OI admission parameters. The adjusted odds ratio for SIRS in OI patients was 2.09, and 2.27 for sepsis. Medical professionals and dentistry teams should be encouraged to use the SII and SS scores to diagnose and anticipate sepsis and SIRS, hence improving disease management decisions.

The Role of C-Reactive Protein and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Predicting the Severity of Odontogenic Infections in Adult Patients.

Background and Objectives: Odontogenic infections (OI) represent a frequent cause of dental and maxillo-facial interventions, mostly due to late presentations or misdiagnosed complications. It is believed that the intensity of the immunoinflammatory response in OI is the main prognostic factor. Therefore, in this research, it was pursued to determine if the combination of C-reactive protein (CRP) and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) (CRP-NLR) may serve as potential severity predictors in patients with odontogenic infections. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis on 108 patients hospitalized for odontogenic infections was conducted at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. Depending on the symptom severity scale, patients hospitalized with OI were divided into two equal groups based on infection severity (SS). Results: Patients with severe OI from Group B were associated more frequently with diabetes mellitus and smoking more often than those with a lower severity from Group A. In Group A, abscesses of odontogenic origin accounted for 70.4% of hospitalizations, while in Group B, abscesses and cellulitis were associated in 55.6% of cases (p-value < 0.001). The disease outcomes were more severe in Group B patients, where 22.2% of them developed sepsis, compared to 7.4% of Group A patients (p-value = 0.030). However, there was no significant difference in mortality rates. The SS and systemic immune inflammation index (SII) scores of Group B patients were substantially higher than Group A patients (13.6 vs. 6.1 for the SS score, p-value < 0.001), respectively, 2312.4 vs. 696.3 for the SII score (p-value < 0.001). All biomarker scores, including the CRP-NLR relationship, were considerably higher in Group B patients, with a median score of 341.4 vs. 79.0 in Group B (p-value < 0.001). The CRP-NLR association determined a 7.28-fold increased risk of severe OI. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis of CRP-NLR yielded an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.889, with high sensitivity (79.6%) and high specificity (85.1%), for predicting a severe odontogenic infection using biomarkers measured at hospital admission (p-value < 0.001). Conclusions: Therefore, it can be concluded that CRP-NLR is a reliable and affordable biomarker for determining the severity of odontogenic infections that may be included in other prognostic models for dental infections.

Bisphosphonates-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw - epidemiological, clinical and histopathological aspects.

INTRODUCTION: Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a multifactorial condition associated with bisphosphonates (BPs) treatment, head and neck irradiation, malignancy, chemotherapy, periodontal disease or trauma. The first cases of BPs-related ONJ (BRONJ) were reported over a decade ago. PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was retrospective and analyzed archived material. The study included 38 patients diagnosed and treated in the Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Emergency City Hospital, Timisoara, Romania, for BRONJ, between 2013 and 2016. For all the cases were noted gender, age, localization of osteonecrosis, therapeutic indications for BPs (osteoporosis or malignancy), history of radiotherapy or chemotherapy, presence of bone metastases. If the treatment consisted in surgical removal of necrotic bone, the surgically removed specimens were sent to Service of Pathology of the same Hospital. The excised specimens were prepared with routine histological technique. RESULTS: All the patients included in the current study were diagnosed with BRONJ. The patient history and clinical characteristics were the most useful diagnostic methods. Radiographic changes are not significant in early stages of osteonecrosis. The prevalence of BPs-associated ONJ is higher between 55-74 years old. CONCLUSIONS: ONJ is an important complication of BPs medication. The majority of affected patients develop this complication after dentoalveorar surgery, especially after dental extraction. Therefore, a good state of dental health is one of the most important directives when dealing with potential candidates for BPs therapy.

Basal cell carcinoma and basosquamous carcinoma, two faces of the same condition?

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common locally invasive malignant epidermal neoplasm. It is generally a tumor that runs a slow progressive course and can usually be cured by surgery. Basosquamous carcinoma is considered by some authors a rare subtype of BCC, while others describe it as independent tumor with different evolution from BCC. The aim of the study was to present a very interesting case of initially otherwise ordinary BCC that during its repeated and extensive relapses changed its histopathology in a basosquamous carcinoma, despite the free surgical margins and leading to major surgeries with loss of right eye. We present a case of 75-year-old male diagnosed in 2008 with a tumor located in the right naso-orbital region. The patient underwent surgical treatment, the histopathology being consistent with BCC. He presented recurrences of the tumor in 2009 and 2010 that were excised at approximately 9 and 16 months, respectively, from the first intervention. In 2010, the surgical procedure was radical, with removal of the tumor and the entire right superior eyelid. This approach proved to have negative side effects over the right eye in time. Therefore, after two months, a complete exenteration of the right orbit was necessary. The tumor recurred again for three times, after 20, 30 and 42 months from the first intervention and every time surgical treatment was applied. The microscopic inspection of the biopsies showed similarities between recurrences and initial tumor. In 2013, after 57 months from the first intervention, the patient was readmitted with a lesion in the same region that was excised but that time the histopathology differed from the previous, the tumor being composed of sheets of achromic epithelioid cells, with vesicular nuclei and prominent, eosinophilic nucleoli. The tumor cells were positive for pan-cytokeratin AE1∕AE3 and negative for S100 protein, human melanoma black 45 (HMB45) and vimentin that sustained the diagnosis of basosquamous carcinoma. The paper presented an interesting case with different histopathological features from a recurrence to other, with important implication in diagnosis and prognosis. The transformation of BCC into basosquamous carcinoma sustain that the basosquamous carcinoma is better a rare, aggressive variant of BCC, than an individual lesion.

Craniofacial morphology and its relation to the eruption pattern of permanent teeth in the supporting zone of the dentition in a group of Romanian children in Timisoara.

The purpose of this study is to determine the cephalic and facial morphological typology in prepubertal children from Timisoara (Romania) and to develop a population-specific reference for the dental eruption of permanent teeth in the supporting zone of the dentition, in relation to the facial morphological typology. Using cephalic and facial indexes in a group of 234 preadolescents with mixed dentition, we quantified morphological associations between cephalic and facial types, using a cross-sectional design. The prepubertal children in Timisoara have a dominant mesoprosopic facial type and mesocephalic type. For supporting zone of the dentition, the presence of permanent teeth, the canine, the first premolar and the second premolar was recorded, for all four quadrants. Dental eruption in the supporting zone of the dentition has particularities depending on population group, gender, dental arch, but also facial type. From the data of this study, the following patterns of eruption, specific to each facial type, have resulted: for leptoprosopic facial type - first upper premolar (UP1), second upper premolar (UP2), upper canine (UC)∕first lower premolar (LP1), lower canine (LC), second lower premolar (LP2); for mesoprosopic facial type - UP1, UP2, UC∕LC, LP1, LP2; and for euryprosopic facial type - UP1, UP2, UC∕LC, LP1, LP2. The leptoprosopic and euryprosopic facial types have a delayed and accelerated eruption compared to the mesoprosopic facial type. The euryprosopic facial type has more intense mandibular eruption. The leptoprosopic facial type registers the largest percentage of children requiring orthodontic treatment. Monitoring the sequence of eruption of the permanent teeth is very important to ensure the balanced development of the dental occlusion, mandible and facies as a whole.

Lipomas of cervical area - clinical and pathological considerations.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical lipomas are tumors that may present as painless masses with slow growth. This type of tumors is usually asymptomatic until they reach a large size. They can be solitary or multiple. When multiple and symmetrical distributed around neck area, the lesions can be classified as Madelung's disease, a rare condition that affects mostly Mediterranean men. Our objective was to describe the symptoms, cytological and histological aspects, diagnostic problems and treatment strategies of the large size lipomas and to highlights that the differential diagnosis between common lipoma of cervical area and Madelung's disease can be established only on clinical grounds, with major implications in the treatment options. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was retrospective and analyzed archived material. We selected four cases of cervical lipomas, each with its particularities, treated in the Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Timisoara City Hospital, Romania. For all the cases, we performed a fine-needle aspiration with consequent cytological exam. The microscopic evaluation of Papanicolaou-stained slides established the diagnosis of lipomas. The surgically removed specimens were sent to the Department of Pathology. The excised specimens were prepared with routine histological technique. RESULTS: The cases presented one or more lateral cervical swelling of the neck, inserted among major vascular-nervous elements, becoming life-threatening conditions. All the cases studied had the same cytological and histopathological features consistent with lipoma, fibrolipoma or angiolipoma, but, instead of this, clinical aspects differed from case to case. On clinical grounds, two patients were considered as Madelung's diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Despite of the same histopathological aspects, lateral cervical lipomas can be classified in varies categories with different treatment strategies and prognostic factors. The correct diagnosis of Madelung's disease is important in order to add other treatment options to the surgery or liposuction as avoiding alcohol or medication for metabolic disorders.

Dental health between self-perception, clinical evaluation and body image dissatisfaction - a cross-sectional study in mixed dentition pre-pubertal children.

BACKGROUND: Self-perception of oral health status is a multidimensional construct that includes psychological, psychosocial and functional aspects of oral health. Contemporary concepts suggest that the evaluation of health needs should focus on clinical standards and socio-dental indicators that measure the impact of health/disease on the individual quality of life. Oral health cannot be dissociated from general health. This study evaluates a possible association between oral health status, body size, self-perception of oral health, self-perception of body size and dissatisfaction with body image in prepubertal children with mixed dentition, targeting the completion of children's health status assessment which will further allow the identification of individuals at risk and could be further used as an evaluation of the need for specific interventions. METHODS: The present study is cross-sectional in design and uses data from 710 pre-pubertal children with mixed dentition. The outcome variables comprised one item self-perception of oral health: dmft/DMFT Index and Dental Aesthetic Index, body size, self-assessed body size and desired body size. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. The level of significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: More than a half (53.1%) of the participants with mixed dentition reported that their oral health was excellent or very good. In the unadjusted model, untreated decayed teeth, dmft score and body dissatisfaction levels had a significant contribution to poor self-perception of oral health, but after adjustment for gender, BMI status, dmft score, DMFT score and DAI score, only untreated decayed teeth OR = 1.293, 95%CI (1.120-1.492) and higher body dissatisfaction levels had a significant contribution. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the need for dental treatment influenced self-perception of oral health in prepubertal children with mixed dentition, especially with relation to untreated decayed teeth. Since only body dissatisfaction levels, but not BMI, were related to poor self-perception of oral health, which involves a psychological component, further studies should evaluate the risk factors of body dissatisfaction, in order to plan health care directed to this age group, and with the purpose to positive parenting strategies.

Rare benign tumor of the larynx - laryngeal amyloidosis.

We report a case of rare benign tumor of the larynx - amyloidosis of larynx - in a 52-year-old female who presented to the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Timisoara Municipal Hospital, Romania, with dysphonia. The patient's first presentation was in June 2012, with a polypoid formation localized on left vocal cord. The patient underwent a suspended microlaryngoscopy (SM) with tumor removal followed by histopathological examination, which revealed a laryngeal amyloidosis. The tumor recurred in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The patient underwent tracheotomy, followed by SM with endoscopic CO2 laser procedures, in order to remove the tumor and to ensure the airway. The follow-up was for six years. In May 2018, amyloid was located in subglottis, glottis and left false vocal fold. The patient needed five revision surgical procedures. The patient did not developed systemic amyloidosis during the follow-up period.

Extranodal NK÷T-cell lymphoma, nasal type with cutaneous involvement - a rare case associated with chronic C hepatitis and occupational metal dust exposure.

Extranodal natural killer (NK)÷T-cell lymphomas, nasal type are rare and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs), with unknown etiology, rapid evolution and poor prognosis, due to midline tissue destruction and rapid spreading of the tumor. These lymphomas occur commonly in the nasal cavity and upper aerodigestive tract, but can also present involvement of the skin, salivary gland, and testis. We describe a case of nasal type T-cell NHL involving the nasal cavity and determining right thigh cutaneous metastases in a 47-year-old female associated with liver comorbidities and occupational dust exposure. The patient was suffering from chronic type C hepatitis and cirrhosis and she has been occupationally exposed to metal dust for 10 years. Clinical and laboratory investigations were performed. Essential for diagnosis and treatment protocol was nasal endoscopy and biopsy of nasal and cutaneous lesions. The histopathological exam was consistent with NK÷T-cell lymphoma. Patient was diagnosed in Ann Arbor stage IVA. Chemotherapy was initiated with Bleomycin, Etoposide, Adriamycin (Doxorubicin), Cyclophosphamide, Oncovin (Vincristine), Procarbazine and Prednisone, but it was stopped after two cycles because of the liver condition. The treatment plan also included radiotherapy, but soon after initiation, the patient died because of a liver complication. We present a rare case of extranodal NK÷T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, with cutaneous involvement to which the treatment could not be properly applied because of the late diagnosis and liver comorbidities.