Stafne's bone defect: a systematic review

Background: This systematic review integrated the available data published in the literature on Stafne's bone defect (SBD), considering the clinical, imaging and histopathological results.Material and Methods: An electronic search was undertaken in six databases. Eligibility criteria were: articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese describing case reports or case series of SBD, reported up to September/2021. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool.Results: A total of 98 articles were retrieved, involving 465 individuals with SBD and were included for quan-titative analysis. Mean age was 52.78 years (range: 11-89 years), with male predilection (n=374/80.85%). Ra-diographs were the most frequent imagiological exams (n=298/64.09%), followed by computed tomography (n=98/21.08%). SBD was more prevalent in the posterior mandible (n=361/93.77%) as a hypodense radiolucent lesion (n=250/77.40%). Mean size was 1.58 cm (range: 0.3-.8.0 cm). Two-hundred-and-two lesions (97.37%) were unilocular and 126 (91.97%) were classified as well-defined. Clinical symptoms were reported in 73 cases, while 68 cases (93.15%) were asymptomatic. Only 34 cases (12.32%) were submitted to histopathological examination. Mean follow-up time was 26.42 +/- 25.39 months.Conclusions: SBD is more frequent in male patients in the fifth and sixth decade of life. Classic SBD is radio-graphically characterized as a single, unilocular and well-defined lesion in the posterior region of the jaw with a radiolucent/hypodense appearance.

Automated summary

This systematic review examined the clinical, imaging, and histopathological characteristics of Stafne's bone defect (SBD). The findings showed that SBD is more prevalent in male patients in their fifth and sixth decade of life. Radiographically, SBD is characterized as a single, unilocular, and well-defined lesion in the posterior region of the jaw with a radiolucent/hypodense appearance.