Critical Steps in Electronic Volume Quantification of Gingival Crevicular Fluid

Objectives: Since precise calibration of Periotron is crucial for reliable gingival crevicular fluid volume quantification, factors that may interfere with this process is likely to deserve a particular methodological concern, including local temperature and humidity. In this multi-central study model, we aimed to analyze the impact of the room conditions on electronic readings and the value of the increased number of repeated volumetric measurements for further reliability. Methods: Data for 20°C and 25°C were obtained from three Periotron 8000® devices located at three different periodontology departments. For each of the test volumes (ranged between 0.0-0.6µl) 20 repeated measurements were achieved at both temperatures and statistical analysis were carried out for a total of 720 readings and corresponding µl values. The validity of 3, 5 and 20 replicated volumes for each test volume was also evaluated. Results: Local room conditions resulted with unique calibration values for each test volume and for each device. Although a 5°C increase at the room temperature (with varying humidity levels) provided higher electronic readings in general, this was not observed for all devices and all volumes. Thus, it can be suggested that each device was affected in various magnitudes and in a unique manner. On the other hand, additional replicates (n=20) did not seem to add any further reliability to the electronic scores for the given test volumes. Conclusions: Our findings, which confirm the unique electronic volumetric scores of each device at different local conditions, may highlight the impact of room conditions and may suggest the precise standardization of the volumetric quantification procedures, besides a successful clinical sampling. Furthermore, the findings of the present study may support the appropriateness of triplicate readings for each test volume during the calibration of Periotron 8000®.