André Tomlin shares his own experiences of being diagnosed with postnatal depression and wonders how we can improve screening for other fathers at risk during the perinatal period.
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This review of dental pulp test accuracy included 28 studies. While the findings suggest that laser doppler flowmetry and pulse oximitery are the most accurate the quality of the available studies is low.
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This review of diagnostic tools for sleep bruxism included 8 studies the majority being at high risk of bias. Portable diagnostic devices had best validity but quality of evidence was very-low to moderate.
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This review of panoramic radiography for IAN injury prediction after third molar surgery included 8 studies calculating key diagnostic data fro the 7 classical used signs. Values were to low to rule out post-operative damage before surgery but some siigns could rule in risk of injury.
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15 in-vitro studies were included in this review of CBCT & periapical radiographs for the diagnosis of external root resorption. It suggests that CBCT performs better however further research is needed the clinical an cost -effectiveness of its use.
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This review compared direct digital sensors and indirect photostimulable phosphor plates for the detection of caries. Six studies were included in the review with 4 contributing to the meta-analysis. There was no significant difference between the two systems and they displayed good specificity and limited sensitivity.
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Ian Anderson on a recent diagnostic accuracy meta-analysis, which shows that the Whooley questions for depression are effective at ruling out the condition, but that false positives are common.
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This review of salivary biomarkers for diagnosing periodontal disease only identified 4 studies at high risk of bias but suggests a small number of potential biomarkers. However the findings should be interpreted with caution.
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Only 4 small studies at high risk of bias were available for this review of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for diagnosis of vertical root fracture, providing insufficient evidence to suggest that CBCT is a reliable test.
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Akshay Nair explores the results of a systematic review of cognitive tests for dementia and mild cognitive impairment, which focuses on the MMSE, Mini-Cog, ACE-R and MoCA instruments. Along the way he explains how diagnostic tests work and how sensitivity and specificity are useful measures to get your head around.
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