Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: Medical emergencies during dental treatment need to be appropriately equipped to deal with multiple chronic diseases in medically compromised patients. A well-prepared dental team can prevent stress-related medical emergencies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the readiness of dentists in managing medical emergencies, while comparing between postgraduate interns and registered dental graduates, working at a public sector hospital. Methods: The study was conducted in three constituent dental colleges and affiliated hospitals of Dow University of Health Sciences situated in Karachi from January-March 2021. A 28-item validated questionnaire was piloted and designed to assess 250 dentists and interns in managing medical emergencies. For data analysis, responses of a three-point Likert scale related to knowledge was used, while a dichotomous scale was used for diagnosis and management and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 250 dentists, 208(83%) responded to the questionnaire. Most of the participants 200(96%) of the participants were taking medical histories and 149(87%) were routinely taking vital signs before dental treatment. We found that 62(42%) lacked adequate training for managing medical emergencies. Dental interns had more experience to deal with medical emergencies and were better prepared than general dentists. Conclusion: Most of the participants lacked training in medical emergencies encountered in dental clinics. Concrete measures are needed to address this issue at a national level. Evidence-based recommendations, regular training, drills, and certification are needed to prepare the future dentist to deal with medical emergencies. Keywords: Emergencies; Dental Clinics; Hospitals.
Highlights
There has been a steady increase in the life span of the Pakistani population with more people living above 60 than ever before[1]
The objective of this study was to evaluate the readiness of dentists working at three public sector hospitals in managing medical emergencies encountered in dental offices
Some doctors are unsure of how to assess a medical emergency and are uncomfortable treating these medical emergencies with medications[2]
Summary
There has been a steady increase in the life span of the Pakistani population with more people living above 60 than ever before[1]. This shift has resulted in more individuals living with co-morbidities and taking multiple medications. Dentists are seeing more patients with multiple chronic diseases and even medically compromised patients. These patients have complicated health histories coupled with complex drug histories. Medical emergencies during dental treatment need to be appropriately equipped to deal with multiple chronic diseases in medically compromised patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the readiness of dentists in managing medical emergencies, while comparing between postgraduate interns and registered dental graduates, working at a public sector hospital
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