Medical emergencies encountered in dental clinics: A study from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives:To report the prevalence of medical emergencies in dental clinics and self-perceived competence of dentists in the Eastern Province of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, a self administered questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 198 dentists working in private and government dental clinics in the Eastern Province of KSA. The respondents were approached twice to ensure good participation in the study.Results:One hundred and forty-five dentists returned the questionnaires yielding a response rate of 73.2%. Half were male (50.3%) and 56% worked in private dental clinics. About 67% of the respondents reported having encountered any episodes of medical emergencies. Vasovagal syncope was the most common medical emergency experienced by 53.1% of the dentists, followed by hypoglycemia (44.8%) and only 5.5% had faced foreign body aspiration. The responding dentists had encountered 599 episodes of medical emergencies in the last 3 years. Almost 45% of the participants felt competent to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Most of the participants (74.3%) reported that they had emergency kits in their clinics; more than 70% of the dentists kept oxygen, adrenaline, and glucose. One-third of them were either not confident or did not know how to use the emergency drugs.Conclusions:The study findings revealed that dentists quite commonly encounter medical emergency situations during their practice in dental clinics, but a considerable proportion of dentists did not feel competent enough to handle medical emergency conditions.

Final Year Dental Students’ Perception of Knowledge, Training and Competence in Medical Emergency Management

“…Moreover, only 51.4% reported that they could perform CPR. This is comparable to a previous project conducted in Saudi Arabia, which reported only 45% of dentists felt competent to perform CPR (Alhamad et al, 2015). Other studies have likewise reported the majority of dentists felt they are unable or unprepared to provide CPR, BLS or first aid in an emergency (Arsati et al, 2010;Stafuzza et al, 2014;Varma et al, 2015).…”

“…Vasovagal syncope is often cited as the most commonly occurring ME in dental practice (Alhamad et al, 2015;Müller et al, 2008). However other MEs that may occur include: cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, airway obstruction, stroke, as well as hypoglycaemic, asthmatic, and epileptic episodes (Leelavathi, Reddy, Elizabeth, & Priyadarshni, 2016;Müller et al, 2008).…”

“…However, previous research indicates that dentists may lack the knowledge, confidence and preparedness to be able to manage MEs that may occur within their practice (Alhamad et al, 2015;Arsati et al, 2010;Broadbent & Thomson, 2001). The literature suggests that not all dentists are exposed to training about MEs, or basic life support (BLS) including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (Leelavathi et al, 2016;Müller et al, 2008;Stafuzza, Carrara, Oliveira, Santos, & Oliveira, 2014).…”

Knowledge and Preparedness of Dental Practitioners on Management of Medical Emergencies in Jazan Province

“…There was a study by Mostafa et al published in 2015 and looked into medical emergencies in dental offices in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia [ 11 ]. Never the less it is well documented that the Saudi population is suffering from a high incidence of Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases [ 12 ][ 13 ] which again may predispose to medical emergencies during dental treatment.…”

Medical Risk Assessment in Dental Patients: A Cross Sectional KAP[Knowledge, Attitude And Practice] Study Among Dental Practitioners in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“…The statistical analysis was done using Decision Analyst 2.00 12 . The eleven attributes shown in figure no 2, have been analyzed for two groups of data.…”