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[Quantitative evaluation of thermosensitivity in patients with mandibular fractures]
H Leonhardt1, D Meinecke, K L Gerlach
1Klinik für Mund-, Kiefer- und Gesichtschirurgie, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg. Henry.Leonhardt@medizin.uni-magdeburg.de
Aim:
The temperature and pain thresholds of 30 patients with mandibular fractures were evaluated with a specially developed measuring device in a prospective study to examine neurosensory disturbances of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN).
Patients And Methods:
Measurements in 30 patients with 45 mandibular fractures were done before, immediately after, and over the course of half a year after operation. Outcomes of the thermosensitivity measurement (TSM) were compared to the results of the two point discrimination (2-PD) test, sharp/blunt test (SBT), and questioning the patients about their subjective feelings (SF).
Results:
Post-traumatically, neurosensory testing revealed up to 2.8 degrees C (mean) increased thresholds as compared with the intact side. By contrast, post operative diagnostics clearly revealed up to 8.1 degrees C (mean) increased thresholds. Compared with the clinical sensory tests, the post-therapeutic (3-6 months postoperative) measurements with the TSM device proved a resensitization and threshold decrease by up to 3 degrees C. We found more exact and reproducible results of the TSM in comparison to those of the 2-PD and SBT for the evaluation of sensory disturbances of the IAN. Close agreements between the results of the TSM and the SF could be detected.
Conclusion:
Because of its sensitivity and accuracy in the quantitative detection of temperature and pain thresholds, the TSM is particularly suitable for evaluating neurosensory deficits and monitoring their progression.
