Abstract
Objective: To evaluate antibiotic prescribing practices of dentists working in a major teaching hospital in Sudan, and to assess the need for establishing education programmes to enhance dentists’ awareness of antibiotic use. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by distributing an anonymous self-administered questionnaire to a convenience sample of dental practitioners at major teaching hospital in Khartoum/Sudan. The questionnaire investigated knowledge and attitudes of participants in relation to antibiotic prescribing in dental practice. Results: One hundred out of 135 dental practitioners working at the hospital participated in the survey with 48 males and 52 females. Most of the participants (N=44) did not specify their preferable drug reference, while 32 participants specified British National Formulary, and the practice was significantly associated with a higher professional rank (p<0.001). Metronidazole was the most frequently cited antibiotic for dentofacial infections (N=73) and Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis (N=56), while amoxicillin was the most frequently cited antibiotic for dento-alveolar infections and infective endocarditis prophylaxis (N=88 and N=47, respectively). Conclusion: Undergraduate, as well as postgraduate courses,, are required in Sudan to provide up-to-date orientation on antibiotic use, and to increase awareness of dentists about antibiotic prescribing.
Highlights
Dentists deal with various infections in the orofacial region and their sequelae [1,2]
A closer look at epidemiological studies on prescribing practices shows that twice as much research was conducted in developed countries like the United Kingdom, when compared to developing ones, where few studies were conducted with the main finding of inappropriate antibiotic dental prescribing practices [16,17]
Drug reference was statistically significantly associated with graduation year (p=0.005) and professional rank (p
Summary
Dentists deal with various infections in the orofacial region and their sequelae [1,2]. Studies have shown that since the discovery of antibiotics, dentists in different parts of the world have contributed to the calamity of antibiotic abuse in the form of inappropriate prescribing for non-indicated clinical conditions [7], or worse, prescribing for social or non-clinical situations [8]. The latter trend is evident among dentists working in developing countries in particular [9]. This indicates the importance of this study as it collects data from an under-researched area of developing countries
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