Prevalence of Incidental Findings in Oral and Maxillofacial Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

As the use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is increasing and the quality of images is enhanced, the likelihood of incidental findings detection in CBCT radiographs is raised. Variable frequency of incidental findings on oral and maxillofacial CBCT scans has been reported. To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to resolve the conflicting results about the overall prevalence of incidental findings in oral and maxillofacial CBCT scans. We searched the literature in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases from inception to 31 October 2022 to identify studies that reported the frequency of incidental findings in the subjects undergoing CBCT imaging. We pooled the extracted data and reported the estimates as a percent with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 21 eligible studies were included, comprising 9,788 patients (54.2% women) and 10,625 CBCT scans. Analysis showed that the incidental findings were present in 69.1% (95% CI: 55.6-80.0) of the CBCT scans. There were 1.48 incidental findings per CBCT scan. Pooled prevalence of incidental findings in men was 50.2% (95% CI: 23.1-77.3), which was higher than in women (41.8% [95% CI: 16.5-72.2]). A considerable prevalence of incidental findings was observed in oral and maxillofacial CBCT scans.