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Following in the footsteps of Hippocrates—interrelation between the incidence of odontogenic abscess and meteorological parameters

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Abstract

Objectives

Although many physicians in daily practice assume a connection between odontogenic infections and meteorological parameters, this has not yet been scientifically proven. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of odontogenic abscess (OA) in relation to outdoor temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Patients and methods

An analysis of patients with an odontogenic abscess who presented at the emergency department within a period of 24 months was performed. Only patients who had not received surgical or antibiotic treatment prior to presentation and who lived in Berlin/Brandenburg were included. The OA incidence was correlated with the mean/maximum outdoor temperature and atmospheric pressure starting from 14 days before presentation. The statistical analysis was carried out using Poisson regression models with OA incidence as dependent and meteorological parameters as independent variables.

Results

A total of 535 patients (mean age 39.4 years; range 1 to 95 years) with 538 cases were included. Of these, 227 were hospitalized. The most frequent diagnosis was a canine fossa abscess. A significant association between mean (p = 0.0153) and maximum temperature (p = 0.008) on the day of the presentation and abscess incidence was observed. Furthermore, a significant correlation between OA incidence and maximum temperature 2 days before presentation was found (p = 0.034). The deviation of the mean temperature on the day of the presentation from the monthly mean temperature had a significant influence (p = 0.021) on the incidence of OA. In contrast to temperature, atmospheric pressure had no significant influence on the incidence of OA.

Conclusion

This study supports a relationship between the incidence of odontogenic abscess and outdoor temperature, but not atmospheric pressure. A significantly higher frequency of patients with an OA presented at our emergency department on days with (comparably) low and high outdoor temperatures. Furthermore, a significant correlation between incidence and maximum temperature 2 days before presentation was found.

Clinical relevance

The treatment of odontogenic infections has become a significant economic burden to public health care facilities. The results of this study may help to adapt the numbers of doctors/dentists on duty in relation to different weather conditions. In any case, it is an impetus to think outside the box.

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Acknowledgements

This study is part of the doctoral thesis of Fabian Carl.

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Author notes

  1. Fabian Carl and Christian Doll contributed equally to this work (Co-first/equal authorship)

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Fabian Carl

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Christian Doll, Jan Oliver Voss, Steffen Koerdt, Nicolai Adolphs, Susanne Nahles, Max Heiland & Jan-Dirk Raguse

  3. Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Konrad Neumann

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  1. Fabian Carl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Doll.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Due to the retrospective and anonymous nature of the present study, informed consent was waived. The Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin approved this study.

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Carl, F., Doll, C., Voss, J.O. et al. Following in the footsteps of Hippocrates—interrelation between the incidence of odontogenic abscess and meteorological parameters. Clin Oral Invest 23, 3865–3870 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-019-02816-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-019-02816-0

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