Retrospective Longitudinal Study on Changes in Atmospheric Pressure as a Predisposing Factor for Odontogenic Abscess Formation

Abstract

In our retrospective longitudinal study based on the data from 292 patients, we wanted to investigate whether there was an association between weather conditions and the occurrence of odontogenic abscesses (OA) requiring hospitalization. In the adult group (249 patients), the incidence of severe OA was highest in winter (32.9%) during January (11.6%), with the most common localizations being the perimandibular (35.7%) and submandibular (23.3%) regions. We found that changes in mean daily atmospheric pressure five days before hospitalization showed a positive association with the occurrence of OA, especially pressure variations greater than 12 hPa. Atmospheric pressure changes two and five days before hospitalization were also found to be moderate predictors of complications during treatment. Antibiogram analysis revealed resistance of streptococci to clindamycin in 26.3%. In the pediatric group, OA were also most frequent in winter (30.2%), and the perimandibular region (37.2%) and the canine fossa (20.9%) were the most frequent abscess localizations, while an association with meteorological parameters was not demonstrated. Clinical experience teaches us that weather change influences the occurrence of severe OA requiring hospitalization, which we confirmed in this research. To our knowledge, our study is the first to provide a threshold and precise time frame for atmospheric pressure changes.