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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2018  |  Volume : 16  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 318-321

Knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies in Mathura City


Department of Public Health Dentistry, K.D. Dental College and Hospital, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India

Date of Submission27-Dec-2017
Date of Acceptance03-Oct-2018
Date of Web Publication29-Nov-2018

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Himanshu Gupta
Department of Public Health Dentistry, K.D. Dental College and Hospital, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_174_17

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  Abstract 

Introduction: Medical emergencies can frequently happen in dental settings and the inability to cope with them can lead to tragic outcomes. Some factors can increase the risk of medical emergencies in dental settings. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted on 86 postgraduates students and 56 dental practitioners in Mathura city to evaluate their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the preparedness of medical emergencies. A self-administered, multiple-choice type of questionnaire was administered to each participant in person, who took approximately 12 min to complete the questionnaire. SPSS Version 22.0 (IBM Corp) was used for statistical analysis. Fisher's exact test was used and the value of P < 0.001 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: A total of 83 (96.5%) postgraduate students and 51 (94.4%) dental practitioners had knowledge regarding how to perform basic life support and first-aid, and only 28 (51.9%) dental practitioners could handle any emergency condition at their dental office. Furthermore, 45 (52.3%) postgraduate students and 49 (90.7%) dental practitioners attended workshops on emergency training (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Basic knowledge regarding diagnosis of medical emergencies and dealing with the same was better among the postgraduate students. They also had a better attitude toward handling of medical emergencies compared to dental practitioners. The dental practitioners ranked higher in majority of the aspects in handling medical emergencies.

Keywords: Attitude, knowledge, medical emergencies, postgraduate students, practitioners


How to cite this article:
Gupta H, Bhaskar D J, Kaur N, Sharma V, Bhalla M, Hans R. Knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies in Mathura City. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent 2018;16:318-21

How to cite this URL:
Gupta H, Bhaskar D J, Kaur N, Sharma V, Bhalla M, Hans R. Knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies in Mathura City. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent [serial online] 2018 [cited 2024 Mar 28];16:318-21. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/aphd/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2018/16/4/318/246354


  Introduction Top


An emergency is a medical condition that demands immediate attention and successful management.[1] Medical emergencies can frequently happen in dental settings and the inability to cope with them can lead to tragic outcomes. Some factors can increase the risk of medical emergencies in dental settings.[2] These emergencies demand immediate treatment, and cannot be avoided or referred because they put the health and life of patients at risk.[3] During their practice, dentists face the risk of coming face-to-face with emergency events, especially medical emergencies and cause emotional stress to the professionals involved.[4] With the increasing elderly population in dental practices, these emergencies will undoubtedly occur.[5] A thorough medical and drug history is mandatory and should be undertaken by the dentist in person.[3] Every dental setup should be prepared to handle all expected medical emergencies effectively.[2] The most frequently encountered medical emergencies in a dental office are vasovagal syncope, angina pectoris, hypertensive crisis, and epileptic fits. All the emergencies may not be life-threatening but the ability of a dentist to manage them plays a key role in minimizing morbidity and mortality.[1] The curriculum of undergraduate dentistry courses lacks either disciplines or contents, both of which are needed for emergency and/or urgency situations, as well as for training undergraduates to perform actions related to such intercurrences.[4]

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies in Mathura city.


  Materials and Methods Top


This study was a questionnaire-based study conducted on 86 postgraduates students and 56 dental practitioners in Mathura city, in May–June 2017. The study protocol was reviewed by the Ethical Committee of K. D Dental College and Hospital and ethical clearance (kddc/admin/2016/23) was obtained. A written consent was obtained from the study participants after explaining about the aim of this study. A self-administered, close-ended questionnaire comprising pretested 17 questions was administered to each participant, who took approximately 12 min to complete the questionnaire and responses were recorded as yes/no [Table 1]. The content validity of the questionnaire was assessed with the panel of experts. Reliability of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient test, which gave a value of 0.82. Investigator collected the list of dental practitioners practicing in Mathura city, who were members of the Indian Dental Association (IDA), Mathura, from the IDA branch which included a total of 56 dental practitioners. The questionnaire was distributed among all 86 postgraduate students and 56 dental practitioners who were requested to fill in the questionnaires by choosing the most appropriate response. SPSS Version 22.0 IBM Corp, Released 2013, IBM SPSS and statistics for Windows, Version 22, Armonk, NY, USA: IBM Corp statistical package was used for statistical analysis. Fisher's exact test was used. P < 0.001 was considered to be statistically significant.
Table 1: Questionnaire used in the study to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies

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  Results Top


The present study was conducted on 86 postgraduate students of K. D. Dental College and Hospital, Mathura, and 54 dental practitioners practicing in different areas of Mathura city.

Out of a total of 56 dental practitioners, 54 dental practitioners filled the questionnaire (response rate 98.5%).

Most of the postgraduate students (98.8% and 96.5%) and dental practitioners (96.3% and 94.45) had knowledge regarding diagnosing medical urgencies and knew to perform basic life support, respectively. More than two-third of the post-graduates (88.4%) and dental practitioners (81.5%) knew to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. There was no significant difference with respect to knowledge in post-graduates and dental practitioners.

Post-graduates were having a more positive attitude (83.7%) toward handling any emergency condition at their dental clinic compared to 51.9% dental practitioners and the difference was significant. Most of the postgraduates (100%) and dental practitioners (90.7%) were in favor of the availability of emergency kit at every dental office.

Dental practitioners (90.7%) have practice of attending any workshop on emergency training or management or management programs compared to 52.3% of post-graduates. Less than half of post-graduates (46.5%) and dental practitioners (27.8%) have practice of giving any intravenous injections [Table 2].
Table 2: Response of dental practitioners and postgraduate students for the questionnaire on the preparedness of medical emergencies

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  Discussion Top


The life-threatening emergencies can occur anytime, anywhere, and to anyone.[6],[7],[8],[9] Such situations are somewhat more likely to occur within the confines of the dental office due to the increased level of stress which is so often present.[11],[12] Dentists must be prepared to manage medical emergencies which may arise in practice.[3]

The study was conducted with the aim of assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental practitioners and postgraduate students on the preparedness of medical emergencies in Mathura city.

About 98.8% of postgraduate students gave a positive response regarding how to do a diagnosis of medical urgencies and emergencies. However, a positive response (66.0%) was found in a study conducted by Stafuzza et al.,[4] in which evaluation of the dentist's knowledge on medical urgency and the emergency was done.

In the present study, out of 96.5% of postgraduate students gave a positive response regarding how to perform basic life support and first-aid. However, in studies conducted by Stafuzza et al.,[4] Baduni et al.,[8] and Varma et al.,[1] 43%, 73.07% and 89.37% of dental graduates, respectively, gave positive response.

In studies conducted by Arsati et al.,[10] and Stafuzza et al.,[4] 43% and 67% gave positive response compared to the present study in which 88.4% postgraduate students gave a positive response regarding how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

In a study conducted by Varma et al.,[1] 49.50% gave a positive response regarding whether they can handle any emergency condition at their dental office among whom 83.7% were postgraduate students.

In the present study, all 100.0% gave a positive response regarding whether emergency kit should be available at every dental office. However, a study conducted by Varma et al.[1] gave different results, i.e., 82.72% of dental graduates gave a positive response.

In the present study, 90.7% dental practitioners gave a positive response regarding whether they attend any workshop on emergency training or management programs. A study conducted by Varma et al.[1] gave a contradictory result that 74.09% of dental graduates gave a positive response.

In the present study, 72.2% dental practitioners gave a negative response regarding whether they give any intravenous injections. In the study conducted by Arsati et al.,[10] and Varma et al.,[1] 61.4% and 28.24% of dental graduates gave a negative response.

Since the study was conducted in a single geographical area, generalization cannot be done. All the dental practitioners and postgraduate students should attend at least few training programs on basic life support and managing medical emergencies. Emergency drug kits with required emergency drugs should be available at each dental office. All the dental practitioners and postgraduate students should improve their knowledge regarding managing emergency cases at dental offices before establishing dental offices.


  Conclusion Top


Basic knowledge regarding the diagnosis of medical emergencies and dealing with the same was better among postgraduate students. They also had a better attitude toward the handling of medical emergencies compared to dental practitioners. The dental practitioners ranked higher in the majority of the aspects in handling medical emergencies. It is important for dental practitioners and postgraduate students to be prepared for all medical emergencies in their dental clinics. Therefore, dental institutions should provide teaching programs on basic life support and other emergencies of their undergraduates.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 
  References Top

1.
Varma LS, Pratap KV, Padma TM, Kalyan VS, Vineela P. Evaluation of preparedness for medical emergencies among dental practitioners in Khammam town: A cross-sectional study. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent 2017;13:422-8.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Mehdizadeh M, Nosrati K, Bayat SN, Moradi MH, Hamzeh M. Medical emergencies occurrence in dental settings and dentists' self-perceived need for practical training. J Dentomaxillofac Radiol Pathol Surg 2014;4:1-5.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Pandey V, Singh R, Sushma KN, Kumar A, Ranjan R, Singh A. Evaluation of preparedness at dental clinics for medical emergency: A survey. Int J Med Res Prof 2016;2:119-22.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Stafuzza TC, Carrara CF, Oliveira FV, Santos CF, Oliveira TM. Evaluation of the dentists' knowledge on medical urgency and emergency. Braz Oral Res 2014;28:Pii: S1806-83242014000100240.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Amirchaghmaghi M, Sarabadani J, Delavarian Z. Preparedness of specialist dentists about medical emergencies in dental office, Iran. Aust J Basic Appl Sci 2010;4:5483-6.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Khami MR, Yazdani R, Afzalimoghaddam M, Razeghi S, Moscowchi A. Medical emergency management among Iranian dentists. J Contemp Dent Pract 2014;15:693-8.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Ehigiator O, Ehizele A, Ugbodaga P. Assessment of a group of Nigerian dental students' education on medical emergencies. Ann Med Health Sci Res 2014;4:248-52.  Back to cited text no. 7
[PUBMED]  [Full text]  
8.
Baduni N, Prakash P, Srivastava D, Sanwal MK, Singh BP. Awareness of basic life support among dental practitioners. Natl J Maxillofac Surg 2014;5:19-22.  Back to cited text no. 8
[PUBMED]  [Full text]  
9.
Jodalli PS, Ankola AV. Evaluation of knowledge, experience and perceptions about medical emergencies amongst dental graduates (Interns) of Belgaum City, India. J Community Prev Dent Res 2012;4:14-8.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
10.
Arsati F, Montalli VA, Flório FM, Ramacciato JC, da Cunha FL, Cecanho R, et al. Brazilian dentists' attitudes about medical emergencies during dental treatment. J Dent Educ 2010;74:661-6.  Back to cited text no. 10
    
11.
Adebayo ET, Adesina BA, Ahaji LE, Hussein NA. Patient assessment of the quality of dental care services in a Nigerian hospital. J Hosp Adm 2014;3:20-8.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
12.
Gupta T, Aradhya MR, Nagaraj A. Preparedness for management of medical emergencies among dentists in Udupi and Mangalore, India. J Contemp Dent Pract 2008;9:92-9.  Back to cited text no. 12
    



 
 
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