5-year audit of the range and volume of diagnostic radiographic services at the University of Nairobi Dental Hospital

Eunice N. Kihara, Florence Opondo, Tom J. Ocholla, Mark L. Chindia, Evelyn Wagaiyu

Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Pathology & Medicine, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Periodontology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
Radiology Division, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Pathology & Medicine, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.

DOI: 10.4236/ojst.2012.23041                

Abstract

Background: Dental and cranio-maxillofacial diagnostic imaging constitutes an invaluable tool in the accurate diagnosis and management of a diverse range of conditions and diseases that afflict the oral and cranio-maxillofacial region. In order to improve on any existing facility, periodic audit evaluation is paramount. In this way proper and relevant service delivery can be achieved. Objective: To evaluate the range and volume of dental and cranio-maxillofacial diagnostic radiographic services offered at the University of Nairobi Dental Hospital (UNDH) in Kenya over a 5-year period (2006-2010). Methods: Retro-spective survey involving manual examination of patient records at the Division of Dental and cra-nio-maxillofacial Radiology registry of the UNDH. Results: Over the study period, the range of diagnostic radiographic services offered comprised of both intra- and extra- oral examinations. The total volume of radiographs taken was 48,874 among which 41,980 (86%) were intraoral and 6894 (14%) extraoral views. Among the intraoral views, 74% were bitewing, 25% periapical and only 1% were occlusal diagnostic views. The majority (95%) of the extraoral projections consisted of panoramic views and only 5% constituted other techniques. The volume of radiographs was high from January to September while November and December had the lowest number of examination requests. Conclusion: Intraoral radiography was the commonest examination with bitewings having been the majority while the panoramic tomography was the commonest extraoral examination performed.

Keywords

Audit; Radiographs

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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