Evaluation of osseous changes using radiomorphometric indices and fractal dimension in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction

This study aims to evaluate the radiomorphometric indices and fractal dimension (FD) analysis on the digital panoramic radiography (DPR) of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional retrospective study included a total of 64 individuals. The panoramic mandibular index - inferior and panoramic mandibular index - superior (PMI-i, PMI-s), gonial index (GI), mandibular cortical index (MCI), and fractal dimension (FD) analysis values for all patients were computed on digital panoramic radiographs (DPRs). The statistical analysis of the entire dataset was conducted using SPSS version 22.

Results

The age and gender distributions in the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus group were comparable to those in the control group (p > 0.05). The two groups did not exhibit statistically significant differences regarding PMI-i, PMI-s, GI, MCI, and FD analysis.

Conclusion

Our analysis revealed no significant differences in mandibular cortical and trabecular bone structure between healthy individuals and patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Given the absence of other studies on this topic, our findings necessitate further validation through the examination of clinical indicators.