Abstract
The primary aim of the study was to determine the knowledge of dental practitioners regarding HBV serological markers. Second objective was to determine prevalence of occupational exposures to HBV amongst dentists. A questionnaire was constructed pertaining to various aspects of HBV serology; validated by an expert panel; and piloted at 49 dentists. A Cronbach-alpha value of 0.7 was attained and thus extensive survey was conducted among dentists in routine practise treating hepatitis B patients at dental teaching hospitals in Peshawar, KP. The data was analysed using SPSS v.22. A response rate of 58% (a total of 290 respondents) was attained. All respondents were vaccinated against HBV. Over 50% reported not to follow Standard precautions for every patient. Overall, 20.3% experienced HBV exposure, eight were administered PEP. Fifty-four percent of FYs; 74.5% PGTs and 71.6% of faculty dentists correctly answered: HBsAg to be the 'serological hallmark of HBV infection'; this was the most correctly answered question. Sixty-four percent dentists failed to identify the infectious carrier phase. Over 50% of dentists in each category failed to correctly answer 5/8 of the HBV serology. Over 20% reported HBV occupational exposure but zero transmissions. Majority of dentists did not have correct information on HBV serological profile which may jeopardise cross-infection control. Further education on HBV serological markers and its clinical relevance to dentistry along with stringent adherence to Standard precautions is recommended.
Highlights
The primary aim of the study was to determine the knowledge of dental practitioners regarding Hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological markers
Guidelines set by American Association of the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) all citizens born in a country with ≥ 2% prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) are at high risk of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and need to be screened [1]
To date, such work is non-existent in literature. This descriptive cross-sectional questionnairebased study was conducted on foundation-year dentists (FYs), post-graduate trainees (PGTs) and faculty members of 4 main dental teaching hospitals in Peshawar, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) in April 2019
Summary
The primary aim of the study was to determine the knowledge of dental practitioners regarding HBV serological markers. Second objective was to determine prevalence of occupational exposures to HBV amongst dentists. A Cronbach-alpha value of 0.7 was attained and extensive survey was conducted among dentists in routine practise treating hepatitis B patients at dental teaching hospitals in Peshawar, KP. Majority of dentists did not have correct information on HBV serological profile which may jeopardise cross-infection control. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has several proteins detectable in serum and of clinical significance: presence of HBsAg establishes diagnosis of infection. The risk of HBV infection following percutaneous inoculation is 6% (HBeAg-negative source) to 30% (HBeAg- positive source) as opposed to 1.8% for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 0.3% for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [1,8,9]
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